Is March Snowfall Common ?

 

Surprisingly, Washingtonians have experienced some of their largest snowfalls in March.  In fact, March has been DC’s snowiest month of the year five times since 2009.  That’s despite the fact it gets harder for snow to accumulate than earlier in the winter due to a higher sun angle and warmer temperatures. 

Given the right conditions, snow can overcome the increasing sun angle that occurs as the month of March wears on.  For example, March 2014 was DC’s snowiest March since 1960 with 12.7” at National Airport and 19.7” at Dulles Airport (snowiest on record).  The largest snow event DC experienced in 2014 occurred exactly seven years ago.  A total of 7.2” fell on March 16-17 and that gave DC residents their snowiest St. Patrick’s Day on record.

More recently, 4.1” of snow occurred in Washington, D.C. on March 21, 2018.  That was DC’s largest snowfall since the January 2016 blizzard.  Some may also recall the historic and deadly “Superstorm of 1993” that brought accumulating snow as far south as Birmingham, Alabama and as far west as Chattanooga, Tennessee.  However, the storm track was such that the snow changed to sleet at the height of the storm, which led to only 6.6” of snow in Washington, D.C. 

With highs ranging from the 70s to the 40s over the last week, March remains a very changeable weather month in the DC Metro Area.  Such was the case in March 1990.  That year the world-famous cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin reached their earliest peak bloom on record (March 15).  Also, one of the warmest March weeks on record occurred from March 12 – 16, 1990 when there were five consecutive days with high temperatures in the 80s.  That was followed by a high/low temperature of only 42/38 degrees on March 20 at National Airport and 1.9” of snow on March 24. 

In a rare occurrence, March 1990 was both snowier than average and more than 3° warmer than average in the Nation’s Capital.  Also unusual were March 2017 and March 2018, which were cooler than the preceding February’s in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.’s Ten Largest March Snowstorms (Source: NWS)

1.  12.0” – March 27-28, 1891
2.  11.5” – March 28-29, 1942
3.  10.7” – March 7 – 8, 1941
4.  10.0” – March 15 – 16, 1900
5.  9.8” –   March 3 – 4, 1909
6.  8.4” –   March 9, 1999
7.  8.0” –   March 14 – 16, 1937
8.  7.9” –   March 2 – 3, 1960
9.  7.4” –   March 7 – 8, 1911
10. 7.2” –  March 16 – 17, 2014

 

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Snowiest Marchs, Washington, D.C. (Source: NWS)

1.  19.3” – 1914
2.  17.1” – 1960
3.  17.0” – 1891
4.  15.5” – 1900
5.  12.7   – 2014