Sterling-Dulles Airport, VA

Virginia · Records since 1960–2026

☁️ 78°F Feels like 84°
Currently in Sterling-Dulles Airport
As of 2:30 PM EDT

Records for September 11

🔥 Record High

99°F

September 11, 1983

+18° from 81° normal

❄ Record Low

40°F

September 11, 1976

-20° from 60° normal
🌞 Normal high: 81°F 🌑 Normal low: 60°F 1991–2020 normals

All-Time Records — Sterling-Dulles Airport

🔥
105°F
Hottest Day Ever
Jul 22, 2011
❄
-18°F
Coldest Day Ever
Jan 22, 1984
🌧
10.67"
Wettest Day Ever
Jun 21, 1972
☃
22.5"
Most Snow in One Day
Feb 11, 1983

First & Last Dates — Sterling-Dulles Airport

How early and how late each seasonal turning point has ever arrived, across the full period of record

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Range ever recorded Normal date (1991–2020)
214 days
Longest growing season
2017
135 days
Shortest growing season
1983
183 days
Normal growing season
1991–2020 average

Top 10 Record Highs — September 11

# Temp Date
🏆 99°F September 11, 1983
2 95°F September 11, 1964
3 94°F September 11, 2019
4 94°F September 11, 2013
5 89°F September 11, 1989
6 88°F September 11, 2023
7 88°F September 11, 1990
8 88°F September 11, 1982
9 88°F September 11, 1981
10 87°F September 11, 1991

Top 5 Record Lows — September 11

# Temp Date
🥶 40°F September 11, 1976
2 44°F September 11, 1980
3 44°F September 11, 1972
4 44°F September 11, 1967
5 45°F September 11, 1969
About this data — Records are sourced from the NOAA Threadex dataset via RCC ACIS, a quality-controlled record for long-term climate stations. Threadex adjusts for station relocations and observation-time changes, making records comparable across all years since 1960–2026. Climate normals represent the 1991–2020 average.

Heat Wave Summary — Sterling-Dulles Airport

threshold: 94°F (90th percentile of historical Jun–Aug highs)
4.2
Avg heat wave length
days (historical)
98°
Avg peak temp
during heat waves
36
Dangerous nights 2026
Overnights ≥ 70°F
2
Heat waves 2026
so far

Days ≥ 90°F Per Year

1960–2026
30
2026 so far
31
Avg/year 1970–2025
41
Avg/year (last 10 complete)
58
Most in a year (2010)

Average Daily High by Decade

Full year · complete decades only

Longest Heat Waves — Sterling-Dulles Airport

# Dates Days Peak Avg High Avg Overnight Low
🏆 Jul 3, 1993 – Jul 11, 1993 9 100°F (Jul 8) 97°F 70°F
2 Jul 13, 1997 – Jul 19, 1997 7 100°F (Jul 17) 96°F 65°F
3 Jul 30, 1995 – Aug 5, 1995 7 99°F (Aug 5) 96°F 68°F
4 Aug 11, 2016 – Aug 17, 2016 7 99°F (Aug 13) 96°F 74°F
5 Jul 4, 2024 – Jul 10, 2024 7 99°F (Jul 6) 97°F 75°F
6 Aug 25, 1993 – Aug 31, 1993 7 98°F (Aug 28) 95°F 70°F
7 Jul 6, 1988 – Jul 11, 1988 6 101°F (Jul 7) 99°F 65°F
8 Jul 18, 1991 – Jul 23, 1991 6 101°F (Jul 21) 97°F 71°F
9 Jul 3, 2012 – Jul 8, 2012 6 101°F (Jul 7) 98°F 73°F
10 Jul 22, 2016 – Jul 27, 2016 6 100°F (Jul 25) 96°F 72°F

Heat Waves Per Year

Warm Summer Nights (Jun–Aug)

Nights where the overnight low exceeded the 1991–2020 normal low

65
2026 total
above-normal nights
41.2
Avg / summer
1970–2020
64
Most in a summer
2020

Above-Normal Summer Nights Per Year

Average June–August Low by Decade

Overnight lows · complete decades only

Precipitation

Annual totals and trend across the full period of record · see this year's standing →

Monthly Precipitation — Last 24 Months

Blue = actual · dashed line = monthly normal

Annual Precipitation Per Year (1960–2026)

Blue = above average · tan = below average · gold = 2026 (partial)
Since 1960, annual totals have trended +0.90" per decade, about +5.8" across the record.

Heavy Rain Days Per Year (≥ 1.0")

Compare year-to-year changes in days with heavy rainfall (≥ 1.0")

This Year — 2026

How Sterling-Dulles Airport is tracking against normal, year to date

Daily High Temperature vs Normal

Above normal Below normal

135 of 253 days with data were above the 1991–2020 normal high for their date.

Precipitation, Year to Date

30.23"
2026 YTD
Normal: 30.44"
-0.21"
0.83"
September so far
September normal: 3.94"
-3.11"
6
2026 heavy rain days
Days with ≥ 1.0"

Accumulation vs. Normal

Running total since Jan 1 against the normal pace for the same date · Sterling-Dulles Airport is 0.21" behind the normal pace

Period Review — Mar 1 – May 31, 2026

Any window, evaluated against every other year on record — 92 days

Quick picks: Last 7 days Last 30 days Last 90 days This month
Seasons: Spring (Mar–May) Summer (Jun–Aug) Fall (Sep–Nov)
58.1°F
Average temperature
4th-warmest of 65
+3.7°
vs. average
Normal: 54.4°F (1991–2020)
9.12"
Precipitation
21st-driest of 64
-2.56"
vs. average
Normal: 11.68" · 78% of normal

Average Temperature by Year — Mar 1 – May 31

1962–2026 · 2026 highlighted · trend +0.70° per decade (warming since 1962)

Precipitation by Year — Mar 1 – May 31

1963–2026 · 2026 highlighted · trend +0.26" per decade (wetter since 1963)

Warmest Mar 1 – May 31 on Record

# Year Avg Temp
1 2012 59.0°F
2 2024 58.8°F
3 2010 58.6°F
4 2026 58.1°F
5 2025 57.7°F
6 1991 57.1°F
7 2004 56.9°F
8 2019 56.5°F
9 1977 56.2°F
10 2011 55.9°F

Coolest Mar 1 – May 31 on Record

# Year Avg Temp
1 1984 49.4°F
2 1971 50.3°F
3 1966 50.9°F
4 1967 51.1°F
5 1997 51.2°F
6 1970 51.2°F
7 2014 51.2°F
8 1996 51.3°F
9 1992 51.5°F
10 1975 51.5°F

Wettest Mar 1 – May 31 on Record

# Year Total
1 2008 18.07"
2 2014 17.85"
3 2009 16.79"
4 1993 16.12"
5 2017 15.65"
6 2003 15.11"
7 1983 15.08"
8 1984 15.05"
9 1988 14.92"
10 1989 14.42"

Driest Mar 1 – May 31 on Record

# Year Total
1 1969 4.37"
2 1986 5.32"
3 2023 6.35"
4 2007 6.65"
5 2006 6.73"
6 1985 6.85"
7 1963 7.03"
8 1964 7.30"
9 2021 7.42"
10 1999 8.34"
About this data. Pick any start and end date and this becomes the same kind of review as the Month and Fall tabs, just for exactly the window you asked for — the generalized version of the same engine, evaluated across every year on record. Average temperature is the mean of each day's (high + low) / 2; precipitation is the sum of daily totals. A year missing more than about a fifth of the window's days is excluded from the temperature ranking; any missing day excludes a year from the precipitation ranking, since an unreported day is unreported rain. Ranges that cross from December into January aren't supported yet. Normals are the 1991–2020 mean for the same window.
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