An early morning rower glides through the glare of the rising sun on the Potomac River on Saturday, 20 July 2019. The Potomac River, which flows through the U.S. capital Washington, D.C., hit a record high temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) over the weekend following a major heat wave. Photo: J. David Ake / AP
An early morning rower glides through the glare of the rising sun on the Potomac River on Saturday, 20 July 2019. The Potomac River, which flows through the U.S. capital Washington, D.C., hit a record high temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) over the weekend following a major heat wave. Photo: J. David Ake / AP

24 July 2019 (AFP) – The Potomac River, which flows through the US capital Washington, hit a record high temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) over the weekend—as warm as bathwater—following a major heat wave.

The previous highs came in the summers of 2011 and 2012, though record keeping began only in 2007.

On Sunday, the temperature exceeded previous records by half a degree Fahrenheit near the Little Falls rapids, upstream from the US capital, peaking at 93.7 degrees Fahrenheit at four feet (1.2 meters) from the shore, halfway between the surface and the bottom, according to the US Geological Survey.

The United States sweltered in dangerously hot weather over the weekend, with major cities including New York, Philadelphia and Washington broiling in temperatures that rose into triple digits.

US media blamed the heat wave for at least six deaths, including a hiker who had been found unconscious on a trail outside Washington on Saturday and two people who died earlier in the week in the eastern state of Maryland.

Washington’s Potomac River hits record high temperature

Water temperature of the Potomac River near Washington D.C. at the Little Falls Pump Station, July 2019. The record temperature of 34C (93.2F, shown in red) was set in 2012 and exceeded during the heatwave of 2019. Graphic: USGS
Water temperature of the Potomac River near Washington D.C. at the Little Falls Pump Station, July 2019. The record temperature of 34C (93.2F, shown in red) was set in 2012 and exceeded during the heatwave of 2019. Graphic: USGS

In hot water: The Potomac River set a record high temperature of 94 degrees in recent heat wave

By Ian Livingston and Jason Samenow
23 July 2019

(The Washington Post) — The 12-day heat wave that just ended in Washington turned the Potomac River to veritable bath water.

On the river at Little Falls, Sunday’s 93.7 degree reading 4.1 feet from the shoreline is the highest on record in that location by a half degree and almost 10 degrees hotter than average (84.2 degrees). That temperature tops the highest mark of 93.2 degrees set in 2011 and 2012, two of Washington’s hottest summers on record. […]

As if the air wasn’t hot enough, the steamy water pushed humidity levels through the roof along adjacent shores. The heat index, a measure of how hot it feels factoring in the humidity, topped out as high as 115 to 120 degrees near the water’s edge.

Relentless heat over the past four weeks pushed water temperature this high, culminating in the hottest weather of the year this past weekend. […]

From 25 June 2019 to 22 July 2019, 23 days hit at least 90 degrees. Only 1977 saw more days (24) that hot in that time frame.

For some additional perspective, 23 days at or above 90 degrees in four weeks is more than the most on record for June (18 days in 2010) and in the neighborhood of the July record (25 days in 2011). [more]

In hot water: The Potomac River set a record high temperature of 94 degrees in recent heat wave