DC's unusual February weather

 

A fine February day at Great Falls (Maryland side)

This month is well-positioned to finish as DC's ninth consecutive February with below average snowfall.  It will also be the seventh warmer than average February over the last eight years.  With a combination like that, it isn't a mystery why Washingtonians have seen so little snow in recent February's.  That's despite February typically being DC's snowiest month of the year based on NOAA averages.

The first 16 days of February 2024 were all warmer than average in the nation's capital.  February 17 was DC's first colder than average day since January 22.  The fact temperatures remained above average for almost an entire month illustrates why local winter weather enthusiasts have been so disappointed this winter.

According to NOAA, the nation's capital averages 5.0" of February snowfall (based on the 30-year average of 1991-2020).  Washingtonians have seen an average of just over an inch of February snowfall for the period of 2016-2024.  No measurable snowfall occurred in the nation's capital in February 2017, 2020 or 2022.  Only 0.1" of snow has fallen so far this month in the nation's capital.  My colleagues and I on the WUSA9 weather team aren't expecting any local snowfall for the rest of the month.

Washington, D.C. has experienced only one cooler than average February since 2017 and that was in 2021.  During that time, DC's warmest (2017) and third warmest (2023) February's have occurred.  February 2017 had six days with highs in the 70s in the nation's capital, while last February had seven days with highs in the 60s.  Such temperatures aren't average in the nation's capital until April.

Although there have been several stretches of unusually cold weather in the nation's capital during recent February's, those periods have been few and far between.  DC didn't see consecutive cooler than average days this month until it was more than half over on February 17-18.  Meanwhile, the nation's capital hasn't had consecutive February days with highs at or below freezing since 2021. 

While some of this warmer than average weather can be attributed to the urban heat island effect, it's more a reflection of the weather patterns across the United States over the last several years.  A warmer than average February with below average snowfall doesn't always mean March will feature more of the same type of weather.  For example, March was colder than February in both 2017 and 2018. 

March 2017 and March 2018 were also the snowiest months of the season in the nation's capital.  This helps illustrate that while February has been trending warmer with less snowfall than average, DC Area winter weather enthusiasts shouldn't give up hope for March.