Snow in Early December - What Does it Portend?

DC Area Snow Totals (12-5-2005)   Courtesy: NWS-LWX

The month of December averages a modest 2.3” of snow at National Airport and 3.5” at Dulles Airport. However, today’s date has featured widely varying amounts of snow over the last two decades.  Dating back to 1996, Washingtonians have experienced snow an astounding seven times on December 5.

The winter of 1996-1997 was relatively mild, but on this date in 1996, 1.1” of snow was observed at Dulles Airport. That was a relatively minor occurrence, unlike what happened on this date in 2002. That’s when a record 6.1” of snow fell at National Airport and a record 6.2” fell at Dulles Airport.

On this date in 2003, snow totals in the suburbs north and west of Washington, D.C. varied from 1” to 8”. In three consecutive years starting in 2005, December 5 saw snowfall across the Nation’s Capital. Only flurries were observed in 2006, but 2.6” fell in 2007. As recently as 2009, 0.1” of snow fell at National Airport.

As we saw, the snowfall five years ago today in 2009, was merely a harbinger of what would become not only the snowiest December on record with 16.6” at National Airport, but the snowiest winter season on record for the Nation’s Capital. By comparison, on December 5, 2013 the high temperature in the Nation’s Capital climbed to 69 degrees.  Ironically, last winter ended up being both colder and snowier than average. That fact illustrates that early season snow does not directly correlate to a cold and snowy winter.