RodneyS

The reevaluation has now been completed and is just what the doctor ordered for @Cobalt. BWI's Thursday snow total has been revised from a trace to 1.0 inch, which makes perfect sense -- the hourly observations there on Thursday listed "heavy snow" and a temperature of 33.1 degrees at 13:54 and "light snow" and that same temperature at 14:54, with precipitation during those two hours totaling 0.19 inches. An inch of snow therefore translates into a snow/precipitation ratio of 5.3, which is reasonable with a wet snow. On the other hand, only a trace of snow with those hourly observations would have been close to impossible. So Cobalt is our new leader, but @Roger Smithremains in strong condition; see below.

FYI, this winter thus far has two interesting parallels to the winter of 1989-90 in the Mid-Atlantic. (1) A major consecutive day streak in which the maximum temperature failed to reach the freezing mark at DCA: December 16-25, 1989 and January 24-February 1, 2026 (2) A March mini heat wave in which the maximum temperature soared way above normal at DCA: March 12-16, 1990 maximums were 89, 87, 86, 81 and 81 and March 8-12, 2026 maximums were 76, 76, 84, 86, and 78 So, what happened right after the March 1990 mini heat wave? Several minor snow events between March 20-April 7, 1990 totaling 0.2 inches at RIC, 2.6 at DCA, 2.8 at BWI, and 10.4 at IAD.

FYI, yesterday's DCA snow amount was upgraded from 0.1 to 0.2 inch. Also, yesterday's BWI snow amount is now listed as "missing" rather than a trace, which could mean that amount is being reevaluated. See revised table below:

I was looking at @Cobaltas your biggest threat, but BWI seemed to be in a snow hole today while RIC hit the jackpot.

Today's decline at DCA of 45 degrees from a high of 78 at 12:44 AM to a low of 33 at 2 PM was the greatest there in more than 48 years. On January 19, 1978, the decline was 48 degrees -- from 62 to 14. The greatest intra-day temperature swing in DC history was 50 degrees, which occurred on March 23, 1907, when the temperature rose from 40 to 90. Also, 78 degrees is the warmest it has been in DC history on the same day as accumulating snow (DCA recorded 0.2 inch today). Before that, the highest temperature was 67 degrees on November 11, 1995, when 0.2 inch fell. Moreover, yesterday’s high of 86 degrees was also the warmest on the day prior to snow accumulation in DC history. Before that, the warmest it had been the day before was 78 degrees on March 18, 1934 -- 0.1 inch fell the next day.

Quite a day in the Mid-Atlantic -- from summer in the early morning to winter in the late morning. That resulted in the following snow totals today: BWI trace, DCA 0.1, IAD 0.6, and RIC 2.0. As a result, our forecasting guru @Roger Smithis the new leader.

Don't throw in the towel yet -- Palm Sunday falls on March 29th this year -- the same day that it fell on in 1942: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10565582#google_vignette

If we can get some snow this weekend in 70+ temperatures, you will be in great shape.

Yup, the snow gods had some fun with you yesterday. The 0.4 at IAD was reported yesterday afternoon, but this morning we woke up to find that was it there, whereas DCA checked in at 0.8. However, another 0.5 at BWI could still win it for you.

Snow totals for March 2nd were: BWI 1.0, DCA 0.8, and IAD 0.4. Those numbers eliminate several entrants from winning -- in fact only six (in black) of the top 18 remain in contention. @Chris78maintains a narrow lead over @Cobaltwith @Roger Smiththe highest ranking entrant with all positive departures at the four airports.

FYI, the February 24th temperature range at DCA has been confirmed as 27 to 40 degrees: https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=lwx

Good points. By the way, the DCA February 24th temperature data are still officially missing. During that day, I noted a temperature range there of 27 to 40 and so used that to calculate my averages, but that range could change marginally. I'm unsure whether the weather station at DCA is having equipment problems or what's going on there, but missing data has been reported there several times in recent weeks.

DCA _ NYC _ BOS _ ORD _ ATL _ IAH _ DEN _ PHX _ SEA 4.8 3.4 2.4 3.2 4.7 4.8 1.8 0.4 -0.4

February 2026 at DCA made it three consecutive months of not just below 1991-2020 normal -- but also below historical 1871-2026 average -- temperatures in DC. For the month, DCA averaged 36.2 degrees, 3.8 below the 1991-2020 normal of 40.0 degrees and 1.1 below the 1871-2026 DC average of 37.3 degrees. For the 3-month meteorological winter as a whole, DCA averaged 35.6 degrees, 3.7 below the 1991-2020 normal of 39.3 degrees and 1.5 below the 1871-2026 DC average of 37.1 degrees. February 2026 precipitation at DCA totaled 2.57 inches, 0.05 below above the 1991-2020 normal of 2.62. For the 3-month meteorological winter as a whole, DCA totaled 7.50 inches, 1.39 below the 1991-2020 normal of 8.89.

Another 0.7 at BWI would have put you in the lead, but it still can happen.

As of 7 AM today, the reported snow totals are: IAD 2.0, BWI 1.9, DCA 1.0, and RIC Trace. Those totals put @Chris78into the lead.

Your moment may be at hand, Roger, because you are the closest entrant to the lead who still has all positive departures. However, you need to watch your back, with @mappyin position to pick up on you if BWI's total exceeds three inches.

If you are talking about DC proper, I believe that the Knickerbocker Storm is the champion. In that Friday-Sunday, January 27-29, 1922 storm, Washington, DC received 28.0 inches of snow and ice, and 3.03 inches of precipitation. However, Dulles Airport topped that in the Friday-Saturday, February 5-6, 2010 storm, receiving 32.4 inches of snow and ice, and 3.25 inches of precipitation. That storm was not nearly as severe at DCA, totaling only 17.8 inches of snow and ice, and 1.50 inches of precipitation.

Here is an interesting fact that I just posted at https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/02/09/dc-weather-live-updates-not-as-cold-forecast On January 22-23, 2016, Dulles Airport received 29.3 inches of snow and ice, and the snow/ice depth there was 28 inches as of noon on January 24th. On February 4, 2016 -- 11 days later -- that depth was zero. On January 25, 2026, Dulles Airport received 7.8 inches of snow and ice, and the snow/ice depth there was 8 inches as of noon on January 26th. On February 8, 2016 -- 13 days later -- that depth was six inches.

Yesterday IAD added another 0.1 inch of snow with just a trace of precipitation. The situation at BWI is murky because both February 6th and 7th also show a trace of precipitation there, but the snow totals for each day are listed as "MM" -- indicating that data are missing.

RIC added 2.0 inches yesterday, IAD added 0.3, and DCA added 0.1. @Chris78needs just another 0.2 at DCA to take the lead; see below updated table.

DCA _ NYC _ BOS _ ORD _ ATL _ IAH _ DEN _ PHX _ SEA -8.5 -9.0 - 8.9 -3.7 -2.5 0.7 2.9 2.4 1.2

January 2026 at DCA started ho-hum, but ended with eight consecutive below-freezing maximum temperatures. With a 9th straight subfreezing day all but guaranteed for tomorrow and a possible 10th straight one on Monday, the streak will be close to or equivalent to the last such winter blast more than 36 years ago during December 16-25, 1989. For the month as a whole, DCA averaged 33.3 degrees, 4.2 below the 1991-2020 normal of 37.5 degrees, and tied with 1896 and 1935 as only the 104th warmest (of 156) January in DC history. January 2026 precipitation at DCA totaled 3.16 inches, 0.30 above the 1991-2020 normal of 2.86, and the 58th wettest January in DC history.

That storm is pretty iffy -- perhaps you can just get what you need at Dulles.

Totals appear now to have been finalized for the Saturday-Sunday storm, and our new leader is @T. August Fiftten of us have now been eliminated from winning (in red), and there are 39 negative departures at RIC.