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DCA/IAD March/April events over 4" going back to 1946 (1963 for IAD)


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Note - IAD didnt start recording until 1963

 

so essentially, 1 out of every 3 winters for IAD and 1 out of every 7 winters for DCA...

 

DCA/IAD

 

*3/19-21/58 - 4.8"

*3/1-2/60 - 7.9"

*3/5-7/62 - 4.0"

3/31-4/1/64 - 5.2"/7.6"

#2/29-3/1/68 - 6.1"

#3/12/68 - 4.5"

3/1-2/69 - 4.2"/7.5"

#3/9/76 - 6.4"

3/3/78 - 4.1"/4.9"

3/1-2/80 - 4.9"/6.4"

#3/8/84 - 4.7"

#3/29/84 - 4.2"

#3/24-25/90 - 4.2"

3/12-14/93 - 6.6"/14.1"

#3/1-3/94 - 6.4"

#3/7-8/96 - 4.1"

3/9/99 - 8.4"/8.9"

#3/14-15/99 - 5.4"

3/1-2/09 - 5.5"/6.0"

 

 

 

*DCA Only

#IAD Only

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1958 was probably over 15" and 1960 over 10" for IAD...plus there were obviously storms before 1950

Only 10" at MRB in 1958, and 12" in '60. It's not a perfect north and west proxy for the pre-Dulles years, but it's useful sometimes when looking at specific events. Records at the same site since 1926, too.

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Only 10" at MRB in 1958, and 12" in '60. It's not a perfect north and west proxy for the pre-Dulles years, but it's useful sometimes when looking at specific events. Records at the same site since 1926, too.

 

 

yeah..The extended DC metro jackpot was east of you on that one..IAD got 15"+ easy

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#3/8/84 - 4.7"

We are about to reach 30 years since this event, which involved possibly my most memorable afternoon commute from DC to Reston, VA. I was driving in a van pool at the time, and was anticipating a routine (Thursday) trip home, when -- just east of Key Bridge at about 5 PM-- I heard a clap of thunder.  Freezing rain then began falling, and both I-66 inside the Beltway and the eastern portion of the Dulles Access Road (not the Toll Road, which was just being built at that time) quickly became a sheet of ice. Both commuter buses and car pools were allowed to use the Access Road in 1984, but a number of them had spun-out off of it near the Beltway.  I wasn't sure whether to keep on driving or pull over, but decided I might get rear-ended if I pulled over.  Fortunately, the further west I drove on the Access Road, the better the conditions, as this was almost entirely a snow event at IAD (4.7 inches of snow, with only 0.15 inches of precipitation), whereas in DC and the closer-in Virginia suburbs it was a decidedly mixed event (1.5 inches of snow, with 0.26 inches of precipitation at DCA).  I arrived in Reston about an hour late, but very thankful to have avoided a spin-out. 

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We are about to reach 30 years since this event, which involved possibly my most memorable afternoon commute from DC to Reston, VA. I was driving in a van pool at the time, and was anticipating a routine (Thursday) trip home, when -- just east of Key Bridge at about 5 PM-- I heard a clap of thunder.  Freezing rain then began falling, and both I-66 inside the Beltway and the eastern portion of the Dulles Access Road (not the Toll Road, which was just being built at that time) quickly became a sheet of ice. Both commuter buses and car pools were allowed to use the Access Road in 1984, but a number of them had spun-out off of it near the Beltway.  I wasn't sure whether to keep on driving or pull over, but decided I might get rear-ended if I pulled over.  Fortunately, the further west I drove on the Access Road, the better the conditions, as this was almost entirely a snow event at IAD (4.7 inches of snow, with only 0.15 inches of precipitation), whereas in DC and the closer-in Virginia suburbs it was a decidedly mixed event (1.5 inches of snow, with 0.26 inches of precipitation at DCA).  I arrived in Reston about an hour late, but very thankful to have avoided a spin-out. 

 

4.7" with only .15 in precip?  In March?  Someone messed up their obs.

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4.7" with only .15 in precip?  In March?  Someone messed up their obs.

Very likely, but the temperature range at IAD that day was 38/20, and from memory I would guess that the 20 may have occurred during the storm. I distinctly remember how dramatically the temperature fell during the storm, and so a relatively high ratio was quite possible. Realistically, however, it was probably more like 4.7 inches of snow with perhaps 0.25 inches of precipitation.   

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