Washington, D.C., is finally seeing a real winter again after years of barely any snow. Just two years ago, the city went through an entire season with less than an inch of snowfall. But this year is a completely different story. Thanks to a midweek snowstorm, D.C. has now had its snowiest winter in nearly a decade—and it’s not over yet. Another storm could hit as early as next week.
Storm chaser Aaron Rigsby, reporting from the capital, described the scene as a winter wonderland, though he pointed out that it was a mess just the night before. Many schools shut down for the day as crews worked to clear the roads.
At Reagan National Airport, about six inches of snow piled up between Tuesday and Wednesday, pushing this winter’s total to 14.8 inches. That makes it the snowiest season since 2018-19 when 16.9 inches fell. And this month alone has been the snowiest February in D.C. since 2015.
City officials scrambled to keep roads safe. Justin Brown, Deputy Director of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said that around 250 plows and salt trucks worked nonstop to clear streets in time for the Wednesday morning commute.
While D.C. got hit hard, some areas outside the city saw even more snowfall. Places west and south of the capital were buried under more than a foot of snow. Virginia’s Iron Gate recorded a staggering 14.5 inches, Fairlea, West Virginia, got 13 inches, and Clements, Maryland, had 11.3 inches.
Meanwhile, parts of southern Virginia dealt with dangerous ice rather than snow. Freezing rain knocked out power for 175,000 customers, with some counties like Amelia, Prince Edward, and Powhatan losing power in more than half of homes and businesses.
The storm didn’t just affect D.C.—it brought snow to other major East Coast cities too. Philadelphia got 4.6 inches, while New York City saw a lighter dusting of 1.8 inches.
And winter isn’t done yet. Meteorologists warn that more storms are on the way, with two possible systems moving through before the weekend and a potentially major storm brewing for next week.
AccuWeather’s Bernie Rayno explained that an incoming blast of Arctic air could set the stage for a powerful storm. The big question is whether it will track up the East Coast or move south before heading out to sea. Either way, winter isn’t going anywhere just yet.
