Where’s the Snow?

 

Winter weather enthusiasts in the DC Metro Area haven’t had much to get excited about during the last two years.  The last time the Nation’s Capital had a snowier than average month was January 2019.  No measurable snowfall has occurred so far this winter.  In fact, the last time 1”/+ of snow occurred in the Nation’s Capital was on February 20, 2019 (2.6”). 

There have been some closes calls with winter storms in the immediate DC Metro Area.  For example, the winter storm on December 16, 2020 brought a few inches of snow to DC’s western and northern suburbs, but none officially accumulated at National Airport.  That allowed the calendar year of 2020 to finish as one of DC’s least snowy on record with 0.2”, behind only 1973 and 1998 (0.1”). 

Despite the lack of snowfall last winter and so far this winter, the Nation’s Capital had several significant snow events during the last two decades.  The President’s Day 2003 winter storm produced 16.4” of snow and tied for DC’s ninth largest snowfall on record.  The 2009-2010 winter season featured two of DC’s 10 largest snowfalls, which led that winter to finish as DC’s snowiest on record.

Major winter storms also occurred in otherwise lackluster winters like the 2015-2016 season.  If you take away the epic January 2016 blizzard – that finished tied for DC’s fourth largest snowfall – then the winter would have had less than a third of the seasonal snowfall average.  However, the 17.8” that occurred on January 22-23, 2016 single-handily exceeded DC’s annual snowfall average of 15.4”.

There have been some snowier than average winters in the Nation’s Capital over the last decade, including three consecutive from 2013-2014 through 2015-2016, but four of DC’s least snowy winters on record also occurred in that time.  The fact that Washingtonians haven’t had an inch of snow in nearly two years is unusual.  However, it’s important to remember that the 2015-2016 winter got off to a similar start to this winter.  No accumulating snowfall occurred in the Nation’s Capital that winter until January 17.  That was the latest such date on record, but was followed by a top 10 snowfall less than a week later. 

The right ingredients only need to come together once to produce a significant winter storm in the DC Metro Area.  Since snow can occur well into the month of March, it’s much too early for winter weather enthusiasts to give up hope.  However, there aren’t any major winter storms on the horizon in the Nation’s Capital during the next 7-10 days.