Average

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Max (F)

42.5

46.5

55.7

66.3

75.4

83.9

88.3

86.3

79.3

68.0

57.3

47.0

C

6

8

13

19

24

29

31

30

26

20

14

8

Min (F)

27.3

29.7

37.3

45.9

55.8

65.0

70.1

68.6

61.8

49.6

40.0

32.0

C

-3

-1

3

8

13

18

21

20

17

10

4

0

Clear Days

8

7

7

7

7

8

7

9

10

11

8

8

Rainy Days

10

9

11

10

11

10

10

9

8

7

8

9

Precipitation

3.21"

2.63"

3.60"

2.77"

3.82"

3.13"

3.66"

3.44"

3.79"

3.22"

3.03"

3.05"

Snow

6.2"

6.3"

1.6"

T

0"

0"

0"

0"

0"

T

1.0"

3.1"

<32F Days

22

18

9

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

16

RECORDS

WINTER WEATHER in WASHINGTON, DC

NOTE: All figures below are measured at Washington National Airport (DCA)

Coldest time of the year
(on average)

January 9 - 23
Max 42 F / Min 27 F

Coldest Temperature

February 11, 1899 (-15 F / -26 C)

Average Snowfall

18.2" at DCA (National) / 22.7" at IAD (Dulles)
Average Snowfall Map

Washington DC's normal winter snowfall is 17 inches, but just north and west of the city, the normal increases to 22 inches. This includes the Baltimore area. It is typical for areas to the north and west of  DC to see 150% of that snowfall.

Average Precipitation

39.35" at DCA (National) / 41.80" at IAD (Dulles)

Heaviest 24-hour Snowfall

Jan 28, 1922 = 21.0"

White Christmas Years
- only 9 times in recorded history

White Christmas 2002 !! (0.8" on 12/24 and 0.2" on 12/25)
2+ inches at Dulles and BWI

1892 (0.5")
1902 (1.0")

1909 (4.5")
1935 (1.1")

1962 (5.4")
1969 (4.3")

1970 (0.3")
1993 (0.2")

Snowiest Winters and
Least Snowiest Winters

1898-99 (54.4")
1995-96 (46.0")
1921-22 (44.5")
1891-92 (41.7")
1904-05 (41.0")

1972-73 (0.1")
1997-98 (0.1")
1975-76 (2.2")
1926-27 (2.3")
1930-31 (2.5")

Coldest Winters and
Warmest Winters (avg temp in F)

1905 (29.0)
1904 (29.4)
1918 (29.5)

1932 (44.6)
1890 (44.3)
1950 (42.9)

Biggest Snowstorms in DC
incl. Biggest January/February Snowstorms

#1: Jan 27-28, 1922 (28.0")
#2: Feb 11-13, 1899 (20.5")
#3: Feb 18-19, 1979 (18.7")
#4: Jan 6-8, 1996 (17.1")
#5: Feb 15-18, 2003 (16.7")

#6: Feb 11-12, 1983 (16.6")
#7: Feb 15-16, 1958 (14.4")
#8: Feb 7, 1936 (14.4")
#9: Feb 16-18, 1900 (14.3")
#10: Jan 29-30, 1966 (13.8")

Snowiest Months Ever
bold denotes snowiest month in recorded history

NOV

DEC

JAN

FEB

MAR

1987 - 11.5"
1938 - 7.0"
1967 - 6.9"

1962 - 16.2"
1967 - 16.1"
1932 - 14.5"

1922 - 31.5"
1935 - 24.4"
1996 - 23.8"

1899 - 35.2"
1979 - 30.6"
2003 - 28.7"

1914 - 19.3"
1960 - 17.1"
1891 - 17.0"

Earliest and Latest Snowfall

Oct 5, 1892 - Trace
Oct 10, 1979 - .03"

May 10, 1906 - Trace
Apr 28, 1898 - .5"

Biggest December/March Snowstorms in DC

Dec 17, 1932 (12.0")
Dec 22-23, 1908 (11.5")

Mar 27-28, 1891 (12.0")
Mar 28, 1942 (11.5")
Mar 9, 1999 (8.4")

WINTER 2002/2003 - A RECORD-BREAKER
Finally!! After soooo many winters without a big snow, DC finally got the biggest snowstorm since the Blizzard of 2000 almost three years ago. We had 6.1" dumped on us at National Airport on Dec 5th, 2002 (which was also one of the earliest big snowstorms). Yay! That means Dec 2002 will be the first month with more than 3" of snow since Jan 2000! An ice storm hit the area 6 days later on the 11th. DC had a White Christmas for 2002!!! Total Dec snow = 7.1" which is the most since 1989. Also, 12 days of measurable snow totaling 4.5" in January 2003 and temperatures were in the teens!! The Potomac River froze over completely. Coldest Jan since 1994. Crazy.

More snow!! 2.8" on Feb 6 and 3.8" on Feb 7! Biggest Feb snowstorm since 1996. So far, 18.2" which is the most since the winter with the Blizzard of '96. More snow on 2/10 and 2/11. Blizzard of '03 (President's Day storm) dumps 16.7" at DCA (5th largest snowstorm ever), 28.2" (largest snowstorm ever) at BWI and 22.1" at IAD from 2/15 - 2/18. More snow! *groan* 1.7" on 2/26, 3.1" on 2/27 and more on 2/28!!! February had 28.7" of snow with 12 days of measurable snow. Snowiest and Coldest February since 1979 which was also the year of DC's last President's Day snowstorm. 4th snowiest month in recorded history! Crazy. Awesome satellite pictures of snow cover over the East Coast: Feb 8th, Feb 20th, and Mar 5th.

First half of March and temps are way below average and snowfall on three days! But March whimpers to a close as the second half of March posted above average temperatures which is great for the Cherry Blossoms! Spring takes a break on Mar 30th as the cold temperature returns along with snow on the 30th and the 31st!

Overall, Dec 2002 - Feb 2003 was the coldest winter since 1977/78 and the 25th coldest on record. Only 5 days > 55 F (record is 4 days in 1904/05) and 13 nights in the teens! (none last winter) Also, 19 days of snow (highest in 70 years) and 28 days of snow cover (1/3rd of winter!) which is the most since 1960. Wow! Winter of 2003/03 is one for the record books. Total snowfall is 40.4" at DCA which makes it the SIXTH snowiest winter in recorded history.

BIG DEC STORM

WHITE X'MAS!

THE CALM...

BLIZZARD 2003!

Dec 5 2002

Dec 24-25 2002

Feb 6-7, 2003

Feb 15-18, 2003

SNOWFALL MAPS FOR WINTER 2000/2001

Dec 19 2000

Jan 20-21 2001

Feb 5 2001

Feb 22 2001

BLIZZARD 2000

SPRING SNOWSTORMS of 1999

Jan 25 2000

Jan 30 2000

Mar 9 1999

Mar 14-15 1999

ICE STORM of 1999
January 15th, 1999

On January 15th, 1999, I experienced my first ever "Ice Storm". At first I thought it would be fun... coz hey, we don't get ice storms where I come from:). Freezing rain combined with temperatures that were well below freezing turned the DC metro area into a winter wonderland. It started raining in the afternoon and by rush hour, I had to scrape inches and layers of ice off my car before I could drive home. That took like half an hour. When my roomates first gave me a "scraper" to put in my car, I thought they were crazy - "gees.. when will I ever use this and what on earth would I need this for?". Well, I guess the Ice Storm answered all my questions. It was a VERY slippery drive home and a very slippery walk when I got back. I learnt that the hard way when I slipped on the first step outside the main door to my house and fell 10 steps to the bottom. It was, how should I say, painful! Lesson of the day: Don't laugh at your fellow co-worker's "I-fell-down-during-an-ice-storm" stories.

The next morning, the power went out at my place. It came back on 5 hrs later and I found out that 450,000 people in the DC metro area lost power and some of them were without power for 5 days! I guess I was lucky:). Needless to say, the next morning was really pretty. Here are some pictures:- Icicles on a bird feeder, Ice weighs down the powerlines, Icicles on the side mirror, Me & an iced tree, crystallized trees and icy mailbox, icy grass, and inches of ice!