Dc how many inches of snow

The north branch of the jet stream crosses over the northern Rockies and Canada. It supports the southward sinking cold air. The southern branch dips down to the Gulf Coast states, then turns northeast across Virginia and rejoins the north branch near Newfoundland. The south branch of the jet stream carries a disturbance from the Gulf Coast to the Carolina Coast where it intensifies into a storm.

Winds around the storm carry warm, moist air from over the ocean, inland. The air rises up and over the arctic air on the coastal plain. It cools and snow begins. The storm's exact track and speed become critical in properly forecasting and warning for heavy snow across the greater Washington Metropolitan area.

It is quite common for the rain-snow line to fall right over the District. Heavy snow generally occurs in a narrow 50 mile-wide band about miles northwest of the low pressure center represented as an "L" on the diagram to the left. However, air rising up into the mountains may intensify snowfall there and broaden the area of heavy snow. Closer to the low, the warm ocean air changes the precipitation over to sleet, freezing rain, and eventually rain. If the forecasted storm track is off by just a little bit, it may mean the difference between heavy rain, freezing rain or sleet marked as mixed precipitation in the diagram , and a foot or more of snow.

Winds around the storm become intense. Inland, a blizzard may be brewing with visibility near zero in blowing and falling snow and winds gusting over 35 mph. On the coast, even stronger northeast winds blow near the storm's center. Large waves rack the coast and erode the beaches. Sometimes water piles inland causing major coastal flooding. Unlike a hurricane which usually comes and goes within one tidal cycle, the nor'easter can linger through several tides.

Each tide piles more and more water on shore and into the bays and takes more and more sand away. Perhaps the strongest nor'easter of this century struck on March , It is known as the Ash Wednesday Storm. In New Jersey alone, it was estimated to have destroyed or greatly damaged 45, homes. The Red Cross recorded that the storm killed 40 people. It hit during "Spring Tide. Water reached nine feet at Norfolk flooding begins around five feet. Houses were toppled into the ocean and boardwalks were broken and twisted.

The islands of Chincoteague and Assateague were completely underwater. Ocean City, Maryland sustained major damage especially to the south end of the island. Winds up to 70 mph built foot waves at sea. Heavy snow fell in the Appalachian Mountains. Big Meadows, southeast of Luray, recorded Virginia's greatest hour snowfall with 33 inches and the greatest single storm snowfall with 42 inches.

Nearly two feet of snow fell from Charlottesville 21 inches to Luray 24 inches to Winchester 22 inches. Roads were blocked and electrical service was out for several days. Washington fell into the mixed precipitation zone. During January and February of , the Washington region was struck by a series of ice storms.

This area had been long over due, but it was unprecedented to have several ice storms occur one after the other. Ice storms are more common in the valleys and foothills just east of the Appalachian Mountains than in Washington and southern Maryland. Utility company records show the frequency with which wires have fallen due to ice and needed repairing.

The set up for an ice storm is similar to that for snow. High pressure sits over New England and cold dry air slides south across the Washington region. The cold air tries to push west but can not rise over the mountains. It becomes trapped on the east side. This is called " cold air damming ".

A storm moves northeast from the southern plains or Gulf Coast region. Instead of passing south and east of Washington, it moves up the west slopes of the mountains. Warm, moist air rises over the mountains and the trapped cold air on the east side. Precipitation begins See diagram. The type of precipitation depends on the depth of the cold air.

At first it is often deep enough for snow, but the warm air associated with the nearing storm erodes the cold air to the east of the mountains. The cold air mass gets shallower and shallower.

The rain droplets freeze into small ice pellets known as sleet. When sleet hits the ground, it bounces and does not stick to objects. Therefore, sleet is generally considered no more than a nuisance. However, in February , a winter storm dumped several inches of sleet over the Frederick area -- enough to cause considerable problems on roadways.

Eventually, the cold air mass is so shallow that the rain does not freeze until it hits the ground. This is known as freezing rain and is very dangerous. The glaze of ice on roadways and walkways is treacherous.

As ice accumulates on trees and wires, the weight eventually causes them to break, knocking out power and phone service. Sometimes, so much ice can accumulate that structural damage occurs to buildings and communication towers collapse under its weight.

After a horrific ice storm struck on February , , portions of Southern Maryland and central Virginia were without power for a week from ice laden trees and wires falling. Other types of weather systems generally bring only 1 to 4 inches of snow to the Washington Metropolitan area. These storms include the "Alberta Clipper," a fast moving storm from the Alberta, Canada region, and cold fronts sweeping through from the west.

However, there are exceptions. On January 9, , an unusually strong Alberta Clipper passed through the metro area. This was only a day after snow had ended from a great nor'easter which dropped up to 2 feet on portions of the greater Washington area. While Virginia and western Maryland saw only a trace to an inch of snow from the clipper, the District and areas northeast to Baltimore received 4 to 5 inches of fresh snow.

The snow caused plows to move away from clearing secondary roads and residential areas and go back to plowing the main arteries and emergency routes. For more details, see the Blizzard of Records go back a long time in the Washington area, thanks to early record keeping by weather observers such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Listed below are just some of the historic winter storms to impact the region. January 28, : This storm was named the Washington and Jefferson Snow Storm since both of their diaries recorded it. The storm left 36 inches of snow 3 feet in central and northern Virginia and the Washington area. Official weather records did not begin until after the Civil War. Therefore, this storm is not listed as the record, but it was the largest snow for this area ever noted. Winter of : This winter was so cold that ice was piled 20 feet high along the Virginia Coast and stayed there until spring!

They walked across ice on the Rappahannock River which had been frozen since the previous November. January , : This was the great blizzard and freeze.

More than a foot of snow fell with temperatures near zero. Strong winds caused structural damage on land and wrecked ships at sea. Great drifts blocked transportation through the state.

Richmond was cut off from Washington for seven days. Norfolk was buried under 20 foot drifts of snow! The cold became so extreme that all Virginia rivers were frozen over. The Chesapeake Bay was solid ice a mile and a half out from its coastline. At Cape Henry at the mouth of the Chesapeake , one could walk out yards from the lighthouse on the frozen ocean. January 21, : A severe coastal storm dropped heavy rains on the Fredericksburg area. It disrupted the Union Army offensive operation in the ill-famed "Mud March".

December : Parts of western and central Maryland received nearly two feet of snow which aided in plummeting temperatures. The coldest temperatures occurred between December 30, , and January 1, March , : The Blizzard of '88 was also known as the White Hurricane. The storm began in Washington the morning of March 11 and by evening, the city and surrounding area was an ice-entangled mess with fallen tree limbs, electric lines and downed telegraph poles.

The city was completely blacked out with the exception of a few gas lights. On the morning of the 12th, people arose to find a half foot of snow and ice blanketing the city. Winds blew up to 48 mph taking down any utility poles left standing.

All communication was cut off to the outside world. It took a week to restore the links and for Washington to find out that Baltimore and New York had been hit even harder.

By storms end, New York was buried under 21 inches of snow. Temperatures had been in the single digits and teens and the wind roared at 35 mph with gusts up to 75 mph blowing drifts to 20 feet deep burying some homes and buildings. The strong northwest winds behind the storm blew so hard that they emptied the Tidal Potomac. Boat builders said that low tide was five feet below normal. Only a small channel down the middle of the river contained water that soon froze.

Dust was seen blowing along the dried out riverbed! In Baltimore, the low tides grounded ships at their docks.

Without telegraph, officials reverted to sending messages by signal lamps from one old watch tower to another. On the Chesapeake Bay, the water was at its lowest tide on record preventing ships from sailing up it.

Most of the craft that were on the bay were driven to shore in the winds causing serious damage or complete loss. At least 40 mariners died, most of which were on oyster dredges that either capsized or were thrown onto the shore. On the coast of Maryland and Virginia, there was flooding that submerged an entire island washing away a large herd of cattle that had been wintering there.

A snowstorm struck the Washington area on February 8 dumping 14 inches of snow. Extreme cold settled in behind the storm. The blizzard struck on Valentine's Day dropping 21 inches in Washington and Baltimore. Winds drove the snow into 10 foot drifts. These blocked transportation lines into the city causing a major coal shortage that resulted in rationing. Food was also rationed, though not as severely as the coal. The storm had given Washington a snow depth of 34 inches almost 3 feet and the city recorded its greatest monthly snow total with Its greatest seasonal snowfall total was reached that season with Warrenton recorded 54 inches four and a half feet just during the month of February, setting a state record for monthly snowfall.

That winter was so cold over a large part of the US that ice flowed from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico! The only other time that this has been seen was on February 13, , when ice flows blocked the Mississippi River at New Orleans and then passed into the Gulf of Mexico.

The cool spell continued through May and June. January , Cold Wave : A record cold wave settled in over the state. March 29, : In Washington, an early spring abruptly ended when a cold front passed through.

The warm temperatures early in the year caused an early bloom on the fruit trees in the state. The sudden downfall of temperatures in early April caused great damage to the crop for the year. January 28, : Exactly years after the Washington and Jefferson Storm came the deepest snow of this century to hit parts of Virginia. This storm is listed as the record. A band of heavy snow stretched across Richmond 19 inches , Washington, DC 28 inches , and Baltimore 25 inches immobilizing the region.

The roof of the theater collapsed taking the balcony down with it and crushing nearly people to death. The storm is known historically as the Knickerbocker Storm. April 1, : This April Fools Day Storm produced the latest recorded major snowfall 4 or more inches. Baltimore recorded over 9 inches of snow and Washington received 5 inches.

The latest snow ever recorded at Baltimore was a trace on May 9, In Washington, the latest snow was seen on May 10, , when a trace fell. February 7, : Over 14 inches of snow fell in the Washington area in a heavy snow band that stretched from the Virginia mountains across southern Washington, southern Maryland and the Lower Eastern Shore where 12 to 18 inches of snow fell. It was one of Washington's worst floods. March , : The Palm Sunday Snowstorm was another seasonal late comer.

Baltimore received its greatest snow in 20 years with 22 inches measured. Washington recorded 12 inches. Hagerstown recorded 22 inches in 24 hours. November , : This is the earliest recorded major snowfall 4 or more inches with 5. The earliest measurable snowfall in both Baltimore and Washington, DC was 0. Trace amounts in Baltimore also fell on October 9, , and , and in Washington on Oct.

February , : Over 14 inches of snow fell in the Washington area. Another nor'easter struck on March 21, but the heavy snow fell northeast of Washington. With the March storm, Westminister had 28 inches of snow on the ground and a total of 42 inches for the month. One to two feet of snow covered a large part of Virginia and Maryland: Fredericksburg - Intense blowing and drifting snow continued and kept roads closed for several more days crippling transportation lines and causing a food shortage and rationing.

January : The Bicentennial Winter was the coldest seen on the East Coast since before the founding of the republic. In Washington, the snow began on January 4, just as the Carter Administration was moving into town. New storms dropped a few more inches every few days to put a fresh coating on the streets that were just clearing from the previous storm. It gave a clean look to the piles of dirty snow that were accumulating along roadways and in parking lots.

The Tidal Potomac salt water froze solid, enough that people could skate across it near the Memorial Bridge. The average temperature in Washington for the month of January was The normal January average temperature for Washington is The prolonged cold wave caused oil and natural gas shortages.

President Carter asked people to turn thermostats down to conserve energy. Washington did not see the heavy snow that the Great Lake region experienced that winter. Cold winds blowing across the warm lakes brought 68 inches of snow to Buffalo, NY.

Washington recorded 10 inches of snow in January, but none fell the rest of the winter ending it 5. The cold wave penetrated into the South. On January 19, snowflakes were seen in Miami, Florida! February , : The Presidents Day Storm was considered the worst storm in 57 years to strike the Washington area.

Snow depths from the storm were up to 20 inches over Northern Virginia and Maryland. At times, snow was falling 2 to 3 inches per hour and temperatures were in the single digits to teens. Huge tractors and other farm machinery had been driven to the Mall in DC to protest for higher agricultural pricing.

When the storm hit, the farmers used their equipment to help the locals dig out of the nearly two feet of snow. Four deaths occurred in Virginia, which were attributed to heart attacks due to stress from overexertion during and after the storm, and 18 injuries occurred from falls on ice.

February , : This storm beat the Presidents Day Storm and was the second greatest snowfall of record for the Washington area. It covered an unusually large portion of Virginia and Maryland with more than a foot of snow. The storm set a new 24 hour snowfall record in Lynchburg, Virginia, with Parts of Northern Virginia measured as much as 30 inches on the ground. Washington, DC officially recorded 17 inches at National Airport, but 2 feet of snow fell in surrounding suburbs.

Winds gusted over 25 mph all day on February 11 causing drifts up to five feet. The heavy snow and winds paralyzed the region.

Almost a foot Prince Georges County, MD was hard hit with up to 13 inches of snow falling in a short amount of time. It caught motorists off guard and stranded cars on the Capitol Beltway. There were so many cars that snow plows could not get through to open the clogged arteries. Cars littered the roadway for more than 24 hours. The event precipitated the development of the Washington Metropolitan Area Snow Plan to facilitate preparedness and response to future storms.

This storm struck before the days of lightning detection networks and Doppler weather radar. When thunderstorms began dumping heavy snow over the Fredericksburg VA, forecasters had no idea. The storm moved northeast across the southern Metropolitan area Prince Georges County. It was not until the fast accumulating snow hit Camp Springs, where at the time the Weather Forecast Office was located, did forecasters realize what was happening.

March , : The Superstorm of March '93 had a large area of impact that went all the way from Florida and Alabama north through New England. The storm was blamed for some deaths and cost two billion dollars to repair damages and remove snow. In Florida, the storm produced an ocean surge of 9 to 12 feet that killed 11 people on the panhandle more deaths than the storm surge from Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew and it spawned 11 tornadoes.

In a large swath from Alabama to New England, it dropped over a foot of snow. In the Mid Atlantic region, weather stations recorded their lowest pressure ever as the storm's center passed. The March storm was not "the storm of the century" for Washington. Washington had seen greater snowfall and more damage by past storms.

The Washington area saw 8 inches to the southeast of the city, 13 inches in the District and within the beltway, and 18 inches north and west of the city in Loudoun, Frederick and portions of Montgomery Counties. Unlike most winter storms that along up the coast, this storm took a more inland track across Richmond and the Chesapeake Bay. Extreme southwest Virginia saw 30 to 42 inches of snow where some roofs collapsed under the weight of the snow.

Winds produced blizzard conditions over portions of northern Virginia and central and western Maryland with snow drifts up to 12 feet! Interstates shut down. Shelters opened for nearly stranded travelers and those that left without heat and electricity. The National Guard was called to help with emergency transport and critical snow removal. Eleven people died in Virginia, one in the District, and one in Maryland during and immediately following the storm.

This would end the day streak that Washington, DC, has gone without a snowfall greater than 1 inch. Get the latest forecast. Read More. The storm's track. Saturday morning, more than 90 million people are under winter weather alerts from North Dakota to North Carolina. Throughout the day, the storm system will bring heavy rain to the country's midsection.

Salt Lake City may also see a few lingering snow showers Saturday morning. Areas farther, east such as St. Exactly how much snow will stick to the ground remains uncertain. One week after areas of Iowa were pummeled by snow, the Hawkeye State could see a few additional inches this weekend. Winds will kick up Saturday along the Central Plains, which will increase fire threats for portions of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Much of the Mississippi River Valley will receive heavy rain and portions of the Midwest will get snow. Chicago is under a winter storm warning through Sunday morning, with inches of snow possible. Along with the snow, 30 mph winds are expected across the region, which could result in dangerous travel conditions. The best chance for heavy snowfall appears to include areas of northern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, as well as southern Wisconsin. The storm will continue to the East, dumping rain on the Southeast and snow on the Ohio Valley before heading East and creating a concern for ice across portions of North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.