DC is known for summer thunderstorms that punctuate our late afternoons with drama and inconvenience. (Do not fly into the city at 4 pm in June, July, or August.)
In most places, a summer thunderstorm means a cold front is moving through, and the precipitation will clear the air and cool things off. Not here.
Here, the downpour will batter your garden, cause the bad drivers on the Beltway to drive even worse than usual, and hit the pavement only to be transformed into yet another steaming layer of miasmic humidity. Everyone will nonetheless solemnly assure each other, “Well, we sure need the rain.”