Surprising Trends in D.C. Snowfall

 

January 2016 Blizzard, Bethesda, Maryland

As D.C. area winter weather enthusiasts know, appreciable snowfall has been hard to come by since the record-setting Blizzard of 2016.  There have been only three snowier than average months in the Nation’s Capital during the seven years since then.  That’s resulted in several very long stretches of below average snowfall in Washington, D.C.

Following the January 2016 blizzard, D.C. experienced below average snowfall until March 2018.  That March was a snowier than average month largely due to widespread 3” – 6” snowfall totals on March 21.  This 26-month period had similarities to a 33-month stretch of below average snowfall from February 2000 through November 2002 in Washington, D.C.  Having two or more consecutive winters without a single month of above average snowfall is unusual. 

January 2019 was a snowier than average month in the Nation’s Capital with 11.5”.  It remains the last time a snowfall of at least 10” occurred during a single storm with 10.3” from January 12-14.  D.C. wouldn’t experience another snowier than average month until January 2022.  The stretch of 36 consecutive months was D.C. longest such streak since another three-year streak with below average snowfall from March 1996 – March 1999.

In another unusual turn of events, no accumulating snowfall has occurred so far this winter.  Consequently, over 10 months have passed since the last time accumulating snowfall was measured in the Nation’s Capital.  Although a trace of snow – too little to measure – occurred on December 23, 2022, and January 8, 2023, there’s been no accumulating snowfall in Washington, D.C. since March 12, 2022 (0.9”).

Washingtonians average 4.9” of snow during the month of January, using National Weather Service data from 1991-2020.  While it’s possible a single storm could bring double that amount of snow, the entire winter could still finish with below average snowfall.  Such was the case during the 1998-1999 winter season when March was D.C.’s snowiest month with 8.7”, more than quadruple the monthly average.  Despite being a very snowy March, the 1998-1999 winter finished with 11.6” of snow, or 3.8” below the seasonal average of 15.4” at the time.

Similarly, the 2015-2016 winter season would have finished with less than one-third of D.C.’s annual snowfall average without the January 2016 blizzard.  These facts illustrate that while the Nation’s Capital hasn’t had much snow during the last several years, the weather pattern can change quickly to create favorable conditions for a sizeable snow event.