Early January Snow Can Be Devastating

"Blizzard of '96" snow totals   Courtesy: NWS

Today’s snowfall pales in comparison to the storm 19 years ago.  Beginning January 6 and spanning a total of three days, snowfall totals of 15” to 25” were common in the major 1996 winter storm along the DC-Baltimore corridor.  A total of 17.1” fell in the Nation’s Capital, with 26.6” at Baltimore measured at BWI-Marshall Airport, and 24.6” fell at Dulles Airport.  At the time, these totals made the storm the fourth largest on record for Washington, D.C.

The 1996 storm was particularly memorable for a few reasons.  First, a number of years had elapsed since the immediate DC-Baltimore Region saw a snowfall of this magnitude.  Also, residents who went to school in the DC Area may remember that the January 1996 storm was the first time many local school districts closed for at least a week due to snow.  The high volume of snow left roads and sidewalks impassible and made transportation all but impossible for several days after the storm.  (Although, many local school districts closed for a week in January 1994, after an ice storm and subsequent week of record cold, that was not because of a snow event.  See my recent column to read more about the record cold from January 1994.)

The 1996 snowstorm was a classic “Nor’Easter” – a coastal storm that developed along the U.S. Gulf Coast and tracked northeastward up the East Coast.  There was already ample cold air because of an area of high pressure that kept frigid air from Canada in place.  That allowed the storm’s prodigious amount of moisture to fall as pure snow, while winds blew primarily from the “Northeast.”  The predominant direction winds blow in are what gives a “Nor’Easter” its name. 

 

Moreover, during the days after this initial snowfall there was a minor snowfall on January 9, followed by a more significant snowfall on January 12 from another coastal storm that brought another 4” to 12” of additional snow across the Mid-Atlantic Region.  These three snowfalls in the span of a week helped make the 1995-1996 winter season one of the snowiest on record for the Nation’s Capital.

By comparison, today’s storm – that brought the region a few inches of light, powdery snow – was from an “Alberta Clipper.”  It is a fast moving area of low pressure that originated in the Canadian province of Alberta and typically moves Southeast across the Northeastern United States. What a Clipper lacks in moisture, it makes up for in wind and cold air.  A far cry from the historic storm 19 years ago, today’s Alberta Clipper generally brought 2” to 4” totals, with isolated pockets getting more than that. 

This fresh snow cover will help create ideal conditions for frigid weather the next few days.  High temperatures will remain in the 20s both tomorrow and Thursday.  Low temperatures will fall to the single digits and teens Wednesday night and Thursday night.  Temperatures are not likely to climb above freezing again until Friday.