Climate averages 1991–2020
Washington weather
in April.
A mild, moderately wet month: the 7th warmest and the joint 4th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
April is a mild month in Washington: daytime highs average 18.8°C and nights cool to about 7.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 7th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 86 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes April a moderately wet month (the joint 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 12 min on an average April day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Arlington (Virginia), United States (6 km away). In April its highs average 18.3°C, 0.6°C cooler than Washington, with 86 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Washington ranks 279th of 498 for the warmest April highs and joint 248th of 498 for the driest April (rainfall, lowest first). The mean April high of those 498 cities is 19.4°C; Washington is 0.5°C cooler than that mean.
From April to May, average highs rise by 4.8°C to 23.7°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 86 mm to 95 mm.
The annual picture
April in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Washington climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.0°C-2.3°C | -2.3°C | 78 | 8.6 | 9.810 h |
| February | 7.9°C-1.7°C | -1.7°C | 74 | 8.5 | 10.711 h |
| March | 12.5°C2.0°C | 2.0°C | 99 | 10.3 | 11.912 h |
| April, selected | 18.8°C7.7°C | 7.7°C | 86 | 10.1 | 13.213 h |
| May | 23.7°C13.3°C | 13.3°C | 95 | 11.0 | 14.314 h |
| June | 28.5°C18.5°C | 18.5°C | 90 | 11.2 | 14.815 h |
| July | 31.1°C21.4°C | 21.4°C | 103 | 12.1 | 14.615 h |
| August | 29.8°C20.6°C | 20.6°C | 89 | 10.1 | 13.714 h |
| September | 26.0°C17.0°C | 17.0°C | 110 | 9.2 | 12.512 h |
| October | 19.7°C10.4°C | 10.4°C | 86 | 7.8 | 11.211 h |
| November | 13.4°C4.5°C | 4.5°C | 74 | 7.5 | 10.110 h |
| December | 8.2°C0.1°C | 0.1°C | 90 | 8.8 | 9.59 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
April in nearby cities
- Arlington (Virginia), United States in AprilUnited States · 6 kmHigh 18.3°C · Low 7.3°C · 86 mm rain
- Alexandria, United States in AprilUnited States · 10 kmHigh 18.7°C · Low 8.0°C · 85 mm rain
- Silver Spring in AprilUnited States · 11 kmHigh 18.0°C · Low 7.3°C · 86 mm rain
- Centreville in AprilUnited States · 35 kmHigh 18.2°C · Low 7.8°C · 86 mm rain
- Germantown in AprilUnited States · 37 kmHigh 17.7°C · Low 6.8°C · 87 mm rain
- Columbia (Maryland), United States in AprilUnited States · 42 kmHigh 17.1°C · Low 7.3°C · 90 mm rain
- Baltimore in AprilUnited States · 57 kmHigh 17.2°C · Low 7.0°C · 97 mm rain
- Richmond in AprilUnited States · 154 kmHigh 19.9°C · Low 8.9°C · 82 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Washington) is explained once on the Washington year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.
Arlington (Virginia), United States and Silver Spring lie in the same rainfall cell, so their rainfall figures are identical to these; temperatures differ because they come from smaller 0.1° cells.