Washington DC, the federal capital of the United States, should surely be one of the main cities you visit during your trip to the Northeast of the USA. Its proximity to New York makes it the first choice for a day-trip for anyone visiting the Big Apple. There are tours departing daily from Midtown Manhattan.
But a single day may be just enough to visit only some of the attractions and monuments DC has to offer, so if times allows it you may want to spend at least 2/4 days especially if you want to visit all the Museums, there are many!



If you want to explore DC and its surrounding areas, it is good to know the climate. It might not be easy to choose the best period to visit the region but at least you can prepare properly for when you get here.

These are the High & Low Temperatures of Washington

Washington's climate is semi-continental meaning cold snowy winters and humid hot summers. Washington can also be affected by cold currents arriving from Canada that bring freezing air during the winter.

Rainfall during the year in Washington DC 

Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, in the summer there are frequent thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening.

Winter in Washington DC

Winter has average daytime temperatures of just a few degrees above freezing while at night they can drop by a few degrees below zero. If you will be visitng DC during the winter, know that you can easily have freezing winds, but also sunny days, confirming the unstable climate of the entire American East Coast.
The snowfall is abundant, but fortunately the city is prepared and it gets cleaned up quickly.

Spring in Washington DC

In spring, you will have a mix of cold days alternated by the first few days of mild temperatures, in some cases it can get around 70F/20-25C degrees even in April. Spring is also the cherry blossom season, if you can you should come for the National Cherry Blossom Festival (starting at the end of March for three weeks.) Washington is full of Japanese cherry trees and it's a show not to be missed! In May, although the instability of the climate continues, the temperatures go up quite considerably.

Summer in Washington

Summer in Washington is characterized by hot and muggy days, there may be afternoon thunderstorms but temperatures easily reach and exceed 85F/30C degrees and remain high even at night. Downpours, which by the way do not help to cool down the temperature and decrease the humidity, however, arrive quite suddenly.

The recommended activities for the summer seasons are a nice cruise on the Potomac river, a visit to Alexandria and Mount Vernon, an evening walking tour of the Memorial!

Fall in Washington

With Fall, from September to November, the least unstable season arrives. You will still find mild and sunny days at least until mid-October, then slowly the temperatures start dropping, and in November, you can have the first few cold days and even some snow. From October, the foliage begins and not only Washington DC turns orange, red, yellow with brown tones, but the entire state of Virginia (neighboring DC) will be magical for those who want to visit the country-side and really experience the Foliage Season, there is no better month then October. Even the rain is less abundant!

When to visit Washington: The Best Seasons

Amongst the 4 seasons, it's clear that fall and spring are the best time to visit Washington DC, the cherry trees in full bloom in April and the foliage in October are also a main attraction.