Democracy Dies in Darkness

Until Friday, D.C.'s warmest January day was in 1950

The District hit 79 degrees, a January record that lasted until Friday’s 80

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Updated January 26, 2024 at 10:30 p.m. EST|Published January 26, 2024 at 8:14 p.m. EST
3 min

In January of 1950, a report appeared on the front page of The Washington Post telling of a day of record heat in the District of Columbia.

In the account of the historic event published in the Jan. 27 editions, a reporter began by noting that Jan. 26, the day the record was set, “wasn’t merely warm.”