Winter Gets Underway

 

 

Meteorological winter officially began December 1 and continues through the end of February.  Although not as cold as January or as snowy as February, December can still be quite cold and snowy in the Nation’s Capital.  Washington, D.C. averages 2.3” of December snowfall.

Washingtonians have had measurable snowfall in 12 of the last 20 December’s.  DC’s snowiest December on record occurred in 2009.  However, that was the only one of DC’s Top 10 snowiest Decembers that occurred in the last 50 years.  2009 was also the last time the Nation’s Capital had a snowier than average December.

DC’s trend in recent years has been for less December snowfall than in previous decades.  Accumulating snowfall occurred in only seven of the 10 Decembers between 2000 and 2009, including five that were snowier than average.  Washingtonians saw snow on today’s date, December 5, six times between 2002 and 2009.  While today’s storm brought a heavy, cold rain to the DC Metro Area early this morning, it’s bringing snowfall to much of New England.

Not only have Washingtonians had below average snowfall in the past 10 Decembers, but eight of the last 10 have also been warmer than average.  The last very cold December in Washington, D.C. was in 2010, which finished 5.1° colder than average.  Since then, the only December that has been colder than average occurred in 2017 (0.5° below average).

It’s important to remember, however, that the right ingredients need to come together only once to produce an epic winter storm.  Also, a very warm month could be followed by a snowier than average month.  Such was the case during the 2015-2016 winter, when DC’s warmest December on record occurred.  However, that gave way to a snowier than average January that saw DC’s fourth largest snowstorm.

March has been a snowier month than December six times in the Nation’s Capital over the last decade.  That’s despite March averaging only 1.3” of snow, compared to December’s average of 2.3”.  Below average December snowfall in the Nation’s Capital is not a reliable indicator of what the entire winter will be like.  That gives hope to winter weather enthusiasts since NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center expects December 2020 to be a warmer than average month in the DC Metro Area.

Washington, D.C.’s Ten Snowiest December’s (Source: NOAA)

1.  16.6” (2009)
2.  16.2” (1962)
3.  16.1” (1966)
4.  14.5” (1932)
5.  13.2” (1945, 1904)
7.  13.0” (1890)
8.  12.0” (1957, 1910)
10.  11.5” (1908)