![]() Ice storms are more likely to happen in January or February than in December or March. February 1994 proved that this region can get big ice storms. A total ice storm, however, is much less common. When a storm strikes, southeast of the city often sees rain or a mixture of snow and ice turning to rain and areas to the northwest of the city typically gets more snow, sometimes mixing with ice (sleet and freezing rain). In the greater DC area, there were no ≥ 8" snowfalls between 1900-08, '09-17, '42-57, '67-78, and '88-95.īecause of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream just off our eastern shore, it is typical for the rain-snow line to right across Baltimore and Washington. For example at Washington DC: Since the top 2-Day total of 26.0 inches on Jan 27-28, 1922 contain overlapping dates with the top 3-Day total of 28.0 inches on Jan 27-29, 1922, only the higher 3-day total was included in this list. The listings below only includes an overlapping date once. The following table and chart ranks the top 1-3 day snowfalls on record for all three climate sites. ![]() Official snowfall records date back to: 1884 for DC, 1892 for Baltimore and 1962 for Dulles. Please contact the National Climatic Data Center for official data. Therefore, it may be possible for a 2-day extreme to be greater than a 3-day extreme (e.g., the 7th highest snowfall at DC was 16.0 inches for a 2-day snowfall total and only 9.9 inches for a 3-day snowfall total) as it was less common to observe measurable snowfall for three consecutive days than for two consecutive days.ĭata are unofficial. Measurable snowfall (at least 0.1 inches) had to fall on 2 (3) consecutive days in order for it to count as a 2 (3)-day snowfall total. That means that by just moving the center of the storm 50 miles to the east or west will completely change the type and severity of the weather received.Ī 'day' is defined as a calendar day (midnight to midnight LST), which is consistent with first-order climate records. To the west of the band, snowfall amounts are significantly less. To the east of that heavy snow, it changes to a mixture of ice and then rain. The heaviest snow generally occurs in a band around 50 miles wide. Heavy snowfall, sleet, and wind seriously hamper travel, and cause power outages.įorecasting these storms and what weather the region will receive can be difficult. Cold high pressure is usually centered over Quebec or northern New England, providing a rich source of cold, dry air into the Mid Atlantic states. The strong winds drive large waves onshore, eroding beaches and flooding shorelines. The most powerful storms to impact the Mid-Atlantic Region in winter are "Nor'easters." Tracking along the coast, these storms cause strong northeast winds which create wind and water damage sometimes similar to category one hurricanes. Picture taken outside the Sterling, VA National Weather Service Forecast Office on the morning of the 10 February 2010 blizzard.
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