What does 10 inches of snow look like in DC? This is the last time we had a major winter storm

WASHINGTON – The last time the immediate DC metro area experienced a snowstorm of this magnitude was in January 2022. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this storm brought rain and 5 to 12 inches of snow to most of the metro area DC area and faces south and east.

The forecast for the storm on January 6, 2024 can be found here.

About 15 inches of snow fell in Spotsylvania, Virginia, and 13.3 inches of snow was recorded near Waldorf, Maryland. Further north, 6.9 inches of snow fell at Ronald Reagan National Airport, and only severe weather fell in Frederick County, Maryland. At DCA, more than 600 flights were canceled.

The storm caused traffic to come to a standstill on Interstate 95 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Due to the increased traffic volume and the overturned semi-trailers, the emergency services were unable to keep the highway clear. People were stranded on the highway for more than 24 hours, including Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.

A report from the Virginia Office of the Inspector General found that the Commonwealth of Virginia did not effectively communicate to the public about the -95 condition. “Either the public received instructions to avoid the area and ignored them, or they did not receive the messages,” the report said.

In DC, it took days to clear snow from side streets. At the time, county officials said their goal was to clear major and minor roads within the first 24 hours of a storm. The D.C. government encouraged its employees to telework and the federal government reopened after a three-hour delay. Some people chose to ski to work. Some runners from Washington were not deterred by the storm.

D.C. public schools closed Monday after the storm and Metrobus was suspended before reopening service on a limited schedule.

The last time D.C. got a full 10 inches of snow was on Jan. 12 and 13, 2019, when 10 inches of snow was measured at the National Zoo, according to NOAA records. Ten inches of snow was recorded at the WUSA9 studios in northwest DC. Reagan National Airport recorded 10.3 inches of snow. Other parts of the region received more than a foot of snow during this storm.

During both storms in 2019 and 2022, people gathered on the National Mall for a snowball fight.