Skip to main content
RETURN TO Return to WETA website Donate
Boundary Stones logo

Main navigation

  • Washington, D.C.
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • Video
  • About
DC

Washington's Record Low

02/19/2015 in DC by Mark Jones
  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email
Washingtonians with outdoor jobs, like this snow-removal crew, suffered mightily during Washington's record-setting cold snap of 1899. (Photo source: Library of Congress)
Washingtonians with outdoor jobs, like this snow-removal crew, suffered mightily during Washington's record-setting cold snap of 1899. (Photo source: Library of Congress)

Yes, the weather lately has been bad. But, even if your nose and extremities might suggest otherwise, we are still a fair ways off from the all-time record low temperature in Washington. That distinction goes to February 11, 1899. Around 7 a.m. that morning, the Weather Bureau at 24th and M St., NW recorded its lowest reading ever, a frigid 15 degrees below zero. It was the low point in a brutal three-day stretch, during which D.C. was the coldest place on the east coast – 11 degrees colder than Baltimore and “6 to 10 degrees colder than the New England states even.”[1]


During the cold snap, which followed a significant snowstorm, “untold suffering has resulted from the cold spell among the destitute, and that class of laborers whose duty compelled them to remain out-of-doors any length of time. ... Many persons have been frostbitten of had portions of their anatomy frozen so badly as to necessitate amputation.”[1] To keep the force safe, the Metropolitan Police Department shortened some beat cops’ shifts to three hours. They could rest easy knowing that the frigid weather was just as much of a deterrent to ne’erdowells as D.C.’s bobbies could hope to be.

No doubt the Evening Star echoed the sentiments of many readers when it begged mother nature to show some mercy: “Since the accomplishment of its purpose, the breaking of all known records for this section of the country, it is to be hoped the mercury will take some pity on suffering humanity and come from its hiding place in the bottom of the bulb. The novelty of the coldness has passed, now that new figures have been made for the old inhabitants to recall, and there is no more interest attached to the antics of thermometers.”[1]

But was it really an all-time record? Well, that’s debatable.

Fifteen-below was definitely the lowest temperature ever recorded by the Weather Bureau. But, as of 1899, the Bureau had only been around for about twenty years — a pretty limited sample of time.

For most of the city’s history, the highs and lows were recorded in a much more rudimentary fashion. According to the Washington Post, “it was customary to chalk the hot and cold records on a board fence. The oldest inhabitants all remember how they used to take turns inspecting the thermometer that hung in Hancock's and then go home to tell how cold or how hot it was. But when the Weather Bureau was opened it was thought there would be no further need for the board-fence records, and accordingly, the palings were one by one knocked out and taken home for firewood.”[2] (Check out a photo of Hancock's on Shorpy.)

So, while some old-timers claimed that there had been days that were just as cold or colder than minus 15, the documentation had probably gone up in smoke by 1899. Still, the Post made one last appeal on behalf of the Bureau on February 12: “If any of the oldest inhabitants can find one of the boards of that fence in his woodshed, the Weather Bureau would like to buy it. The record made by the thermometer yesterday beats anything known, hence the desire to find the boards of that fence.”[2]

No one came forward with convincing evidence — a fence post or otherwise — of a D.C. temperature reading below minus 15. So, the 1899 record stands. And, since the official weather monitoring station for Washington was moved to local warm spot Reagan Washington National Airport in 1942, the mark isn't likely to fall anytime soon.

Note: The picture at the top of this post was taken between 1909-1920 and does not depict an actual snow removal crew in 1899, though the wagon-and-shovel tactics shown were very similar to those used in 1899. For more information on the photo, visit the Library of Congress website.

Footnotes

  1. a, b, c “Fifteen Degrees,” Evening Star, 11 Feb 1899: 1.
  2. a, b “Fifteen Below Zero,” The Washington Post, 12 Feb 1899: 1.
Last Updated:
10/18/2020

About the Author

Mark Jones has called the D.C. area home since he was three years old. As a child he enjoyed taking family trips to Colonial Williamsburg and impersonating historical figures for elementary school book reports. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in History from Davidson College and a Master's in History and New Media from George Mason University. Prior to coming to WETA, Mark worked as an interpreter for the National Park Service at Arlington House: The Robert E. Lee Memorial, where (much to the amusement of his friends) he wore the "Smokey the Bear" hat as part of his uniform and occasionally donned period clothes. (Photos are classified.)

More posts by Mark Jones »
Tags
Weather
Winter
1890s

Share

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

You Might Also Like

  • Apparently Predicting D.C. Weather Has Always Been a Fickle Business

    Wasn't the Washington area supposed to get five or six inches of snow today? It isn't the first time the weathermen have missed the boat.

  • Chuting Books to the Congressional Library

    Chuting Books to the Congressional Library

    Hundreds gathered on Capitol Hill in August 1897 to watch as 700,000 books were chuted from the Capitol into the new Library of Congress

  • The Saengerbund Clubhouse: Parties, Concerts, and Bowling

    The Saengerbund Clubhouse: Parties, Concerts, and Bowling

    For 27 years, The Washington Saengerbund hosted extravagant parties, concerts, and bowling matches at its clubhouse on C Street

Surprise Me!

Not sure where to start reading? Let us pick a story for you!

Categories

  • DC (565)
  • Maryland (106)
  • Virginia (146)

Latest Posts

"DC" Really Stands for Demon Cat... Which Haunts the U.S. Capitol

03/17/2023

"DC" Really Stands for Demon Cat... Which Haunts the U.S. Capitol

From the Mixed-Up Files of the Smithsonian Museum of American History: The Heist of 1981

03/10/2023

From the Mixed-Up Files of the Smithsonian Museum of American History: The Heist of 1981

The "Capitalsaurus": How a Dinosaur That Never Existed Became an Official Mascot of D.C.

03/03/2023

The "Capitalsaurus": How a Dinosaur That Never Existed Became an Official Mascot of D.C.

Most Popular

DC’s Most Underrated History Philanthropist

06/23/2022

DC’s Most Underrated History Philanthropist

Game, Set, Match: How Arthur Ashe Made Tennis Accessible in Washington

10/14/2022

Game, Set, Match: How Arthur Ashe Made Tennis Accessible in Washington

La Dame qui Boite  (The Limping Woman)

06/14/2022

La Dame qui Boite (The Limping Woman)

Tags

1860s1870s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990sAlexandriaArlingtonBlack HistoryBygone DCCivil WarGeorgetownMusic HistorySports HistoryWhite HouseWomen's HistoryWorld War IWorld War II
More
Historical D.C. Metro Map
Tweets by BoundaryStones
WETA

Footer menu

  • Support WETA
  • About WETA
  • Press Room
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • RSS
  • Accessibility

Contact Us

  • 3939 Campbell Avenue
    Arlington, VA 22206 | Map
  • 703-998-2600
  • boundarystones@weta.org

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About Boundary Stones

Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

DONATE

Copyright © 2023 WETA. All Rights Reserved.

Bottom Footer

  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Guidelines