February 5th: Coldest Average Day in DC, 1872 to the Present

[RodneyS]

It's interesting to note that, while the coldest day during the most recent 30-year normal period (1981-2010) is January 21st, at 32.2 degrees, the coldest day since official temperature records have been kept is today, February 5th, at 33.2 degrees. January 21st has averaged 35.8 degrees over the entire temperature record. Here are the average temperature for those two days by period:

1872-1900

1-21: 36.2

2-5: 31.3

1901-1930

1-21: 38.6

2-5: 30.1

1931-1960

1-21: 36.8

2-5: 35.1

1961-1990

1-21: 34.4

2-5: 34.4

1991-2011

1-21: 31.8

2-5: 35.9

1981-2010

1-21: 32.2

2-5: 35.3

1872-2011

1-21: 35.8

2-5: 33.2