DC’s Snowiest Month Gets Underway

 

Avery's first major winter storm

It’s fitting that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow as he usually does on Groundhog Day.  This symbolizes six more weeks of winter.  And today has become the third – and final – consecutive day with light snow across the DC Metro Area.

DC residents saw the first 1” of snow on Sunday in nearly two years.  However, last month as a whole finished as a warmer and drier than average month.  January 2021’s monthly average temperature – combining daily high/low temperatures – was 38.6° (2.6° above average).  That’s despite seven of the final nine days that were colder than average.

February is the third and final month of meteorological winter that began on December 1.  Average daily high/low temperatures in the Nation’s Capital range from 44°/29° on February 1 to 51°/33° on February 28.  While seven of the last 10 February’s have been warmer than average, DC residents have still experienced some frigid February weather in recent years.  For example, February 2015 was DC’s coldest since 1979 and was its third consecutive colder than average February.  That was the first such occurrence in the Nation’s Capital since the mid-1990s.

DC’s warmest February temperature on record is 84° from February 25, 1930.  Also, February 21, 2018 set record high of 82° for that date, which was also a new record for DC’s earliest 80° temperature of the year.  Meanwhile, DC’s coldest February temperature remains -15° on February 11, 1899.  More recently, Washingtonians experienced a record low of 5° on February 20, 2015.  Record cold has become increasingly rare in the DC Metro Area in recent decades.

The Nation’s Capital averages 2.62” of rain in February, along with 5.7” of snow.  Eight of the last 20 February’s have been wetter than average, including four of the last five.  At the same time, only six of the last 20 February’s have been snowier than average in DC.  Six of DC’s 10 largest snowfalls have occurred in February.  DC’s 2003 Presidents Day snowstorm remains tied for 8^th largest with 16.4”.  February 2010’s “Snowmageddon” is tied for DC’s fourth largest snowstorm with 17.8” officially at National Airport. 

By comparison, DC residents haven’t had a snowier than average February since 2015.  The right ingredients only have to come together once, however, to produce enough snow to make it a snowier than average month.  Although the outlook from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is for a colder than average first half of February, they expect this month to finish with near average temperatures in the DC Metro Area and above average precipitation.