Climate averages 1991–2020
Washington weather
in October.
A mild, moderately wet month: the 6th warmest and the joint 4th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
October is a mild month in Washington: daytime highs average 19.7°C and nights cool to about 10.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the 6th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 86 mm of rain on roughly 8 days, which makes October a moderately wet month (the joint 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 13 min on an average October day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Arlington (Virginia), United States (6 km away). In October its highs average 19.1°C, 0.5°C cooler than Washington, with 86 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Washington ranks 288th of 498 for the warmest October highs and joint 310th of 498 for the driest October (rainfall, lowest first). The mean October high of those 498 cities is 21.4°C; Washington is 1.7°C cooler than that mean.
From October to November, average highs fall by 6.3°C to 13.4°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 86 mm to 74 mm.
The annual picture
October 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 | 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, selected | 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
October in nearby cities
- Arlington (Virginia), United States in OctoberUnited States · 6 kmHigh 19.1°C · Low 10.1°C · 86 mm rain
- Alexandria, United States in OctoberUnited States · 10 kmHigh 19.5°C · Low 10.8°C · 85 mm rain
- Silver Spring in OctoberUnited States · 11 kmHigh 18.9°C · Low 10.1°C · 86 mm rain
- Centreville in OctoberUnited States · 35 kmHigh 19.0°C · Low 10.5°C · 85 mm rain
- Germantown in OctoberUnited States · 37 kmHigh 18.6°C · Low 9.7°C · 87 mm rain
- Columbia (Maryland), United States in OctoberUnited States · 42 kmHigh 18.3°C · Low 10.3°C · 91 mm rain
- Baltimore in OctoberUnited States · 57 kmHigh 18.6°C · Low 10.2°C · 102 mm rain
- Richmond in OctoberUnited States · 154 kmHigh 20.5°C · Low 11.1°C · 93 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.