2020-2021 Winter Wrap

 

This winter is poised to become DC’s fourth with below average snowfall out of the last five winters.  That’s despite a colder and wetter than average February that had 11 days with snowfall.  Since DC’s epic January 2016 blizzard, Washingtonians have had a snowier than average winter only once.  That was when the January 2019 storm produced 10.3” of snow in the Nation’s Capital.

Although not as mild as recent winters, the 2020-2021 winter had its fair share of mild weather.  December 2020 was warmer than average for a third consecutive year in the Nation’s Capital and ninth time in the last decade.  Conversely, DC’s coldest temperature of the entire 2020-2021 winter season was on December 26 (23°).

The coldest temperature all last winter was 22° and that set a record for warmest low temperature of the entire winter.  This season’s 23° is on the verge of eclipsing that record.  It hasn’t been below 22° in the Nation’s Capital since it was 18° on February 2, 2019.  Similarly, January 2021 was also a warmer than average month and finished 2.6° warmer than average.  That made last month DC’s third consecutive warmer than average January, which is the longest such stretch since 2005 – 2008. 

Despite several mild days at the end of February, this month is well-positioned to finish colder than average in the Nation’s Capital.  That’s largely because 15 of the first 22 days were colder than average.  Snow fell on 11 of the first 22 days, but only added up to 2.8” – or roughly half of DC’s February average.  What contributed to so little snowfall, despite its frequency, was the lack of a sufficiently cold air mass.  The rain/snow line often set up through the middle of the DC Metro Area and that minimized accumulations inside I-495.

While DC’s 2020-2021 winter snowfall total is 5.4”, less than half of the average, it’s still more than what occurred during the entire 2019-2020 winter (0.6”).  Despite the below average seasonal snowfall, this winter will finish with above average rainfall.  While January finished with a rainfall deficit of 0.88”, December had a surplus of 1.91”.  February already has a rainfall surplus of 1.09” as of February 25.  That’s before the rain and showers arrive tonight and continue for much of the weekend.  Fortunately, for those who are tired of the snow and ice, no accumulations are expected this weekend as temperatures will be too warm.