Presidents' Day Storm of 1979 -- Most Memorable Snowstorm Ever

[RodneyS]

For those of us of a certain age, the answer to the question of "your most memorable snowstorm" is a no-brainer.  Nothing comes close to this one because it was so unexpected, as detailed here:  How the surprise President’s Day snowstorm of 1979 advanced forecasting - The Washington Post.  When I went to bed on the evening of Sunday, February 18, 1979 (February had the same calendar that year as in 2024), I expected to wake up to a coating of 2-3 inches.  Instead, when I woke up on Presidents' Day, I literally could not see my car!  What was equally extraordinary is that people in the Reston neighborhood where I lived came out en masse that morning to take it all in, and everyone was in an upbeat mood.  No one could quite believe that we had received that much snow (officially 18.7 inches at Reagan National Airport -- the most in DC since the January 27-29, 1922 Knickerbocker Storm), when little had been forecast.

Since then, there have been larger storms in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, but none compare to this one for emotional impact.

[Jebman]

I had to go visit my dad at Watergate at Landmark that weekend. Damn dad made me go to bed at midnight, hell I was only 14 years old. It was snowing pretty good even then. We were on the 10th floor. The next day, the landscape below was something straight out of the sub Arctic! We had gotten about 27-30 inches and drifts were 6-9 feet! No cars were out. They were all BURIED lol. I was in pure Heaven digging snow! That snow depth was hard to establish because that WIND was blowing the snow all over!

[Terpeast]

I wonder what the max totals were in that storm. 18.7” at dca and 20” at bwi seem low given the huge impact. Maybe it was the rates and wind, and the element of surprise? Or was there a local max DC and Southeast? I know IAD only got 16” so they couldn’t have been anywhere near the jack.

[RodneyS]

This article notes that Delaware received nearly 25 inches. https://vlab.noaa.gov/web/nws-heritage/-/unpredictable-the-president-s-day-storm-of-1979#:~:text=By Monday%2C February 19%2C snow,blocked%2C impassable even to snowplows.

What was memorable about that Sunday prior to the storm was the extreme cold -- the temperature ranges were 6 to 15 at DCA and -14 to 8 at IAD.

[Stormchaserchuck1]

Weird that the CDC composites doesn't have it.  https://ibb.co/syZ7nVz  Unless this is it? https://ibb.co/hC0bxT5

[Fozz]

Years ago I remember speaking to @usedtobe about PDI... he has all kinds of memories of it, and if I'm remembering correctly it was some of the heaviest snowfall rates he's ever seen in his life.

[uncletim]

Almost unbelievable. At 11pm the night before, it had stopped, we had about 4 inches on the ground and TV forecasters said it was over. When I got up the next morning, not particularly late, it had already stopped again. I measured 23 inches in Springfield. Rates must have been incredible.

[MDstorm]

I was a youngster when that storm occurred.  However, I distinctly remember that on Feb 17th (24-36 hours before the storm even began), AccuWeather was the first to see the possible magnitude of this storm.  The NWS and most private forecasters were not making a big deal about the storm.  Channel 11, which used AccuWeather at that time came on the air on the evening of Feb 17 and reported a "storm" dropping in from the Ohio Valley looked to explosively re-develop off the NC coast and result in a major snowstorm.  The following morning (Sunday), everyone's favorite met, Joe Bastardi, was on the radio and was quite emphatic about the huge potential of that storm (he did nail that one, ).  There was one private forecaster on the now defunct WCAO radio station who said during the morning of Feb 18th that he was not overly impressed with the storm, but later came back on in the afternoon and stated that he was stunned by the latest information that he had seen and he was all in for a big storm. (I don't think that it was the RAP or HRRRRRR  ).   Anyway, with up to 4 inches of cold powder per hour for a few hours, the snow piled up to historic levels and I had over a week off of school.  

[Bob Chill]

I was 9 and it changed my life forever. Other than intense cold, the 70s weren't good for winter wx here. I remember when it started. It was different than all the others. Really cold and just came in and never stopped. I opened the garage door shortly after sunrise and walked up to the wall of snow and thought it was the most incredible thing I had seen. No lookin back after that day. 

[aldie 22]

I was just talking with my wife about this the other day. I remember going to bed thinking we weren't getting much and woke up to 20"+. I was living in Takoma Park at the time and we had windows in the front of our apartment that were low to the ground and the snow came half way up. It was glorious...I was already a snow weenie because my mom was one but that storm solidified it. Good memories 

[dailylurker]

Is this the one where it was almost 70 degrees the next day? Typical lol. Jan 25, 2000 was my 1979 storm. It happened during the day. 

[BlizzardNole]

I experienced 1996, 2010 and 2016 in upper MontCo, and PD 1979 surpasses them all!  I was 12 and in northern Calvert which was the jackpot of the region with 30-plus inch amounts, reports of 6" in one hour, and 8 foot drifts.  My mom and a friend staying with us went out at the height of the storm at around 5 am to the street about 100 feet away.  They almost got lost coming back to the house and said it was snowing sideways so intensely, it was tough to breathe.  I got up around 6 am and the first thing I noticed was the deck banisters cleared off and asked why'd you clear those.  Mom says oh that's the wind....go look outside.  I just stood there in awe of a white hurricane with winds that must have been gusting over 60 and snow filling the air completely.  After the sun came up you could see how wild it was -- there are woods about 70 feet behind the house and you could not see them at all.  It was just a steady roar and whiteout.  After it was over there was an unbroken drift from the roof to the ground on one side.  Cars were nothing but lumps.

It hit the low 40s the next two days and mid-50s three days later and the ground when it all melted was like the mud season they have up in VT.  You could not walk on the grass!

[EastCoast NPZ]

I have no memory of that one out here.  It may have been too early, but more likely we got fringed; a notable storm should've imprinted my memory.  The one in October later that year sure did.

[RodneyS]

2 hours ago, dailylurker said:

Is this the one where it was almost 70 degrees the next day? 

No, but there was a significant warmup over several days with lots of rain, and the snow at DCA was gone in about a week.  Here are the DCA minimum and maximum temperature readings, precipitation (and snow for the two days of the storm), and ground snow measurements, beginning with the day the storm started: 

2-18-79: 6 and 15; 0.21 (4.7 snow); 6 

2-19-79: 12 and 36; 1.16 (14.0 snow); 18

2-20-79: 10 and 40; 0; 22 

2-21-79: 27 and 43; 0.07; 17

2-22-79: 33 and 56; 0; 12

2-23-79: 35 and 44; 0.20; 7

2-24-79: 38 and 45; 1.67; 4

2-25-79: 39 and 45; 1.12; 1

2-26-79: 38 and 41; 0.09; 0 

[BlizzardNole]

3 hours ago, EastCoast NPZ said:

I have no memory of that one out here.  It may have been too early, but more likely we got fringed; a notable storm should've imprinted my memory.  The one in October later that year sure did.

Yes much lesser amounts out west with just a few inches Hagerstown to Winchester.  It was like a monster version of Jan 2000 with the heaviest amounts by the Bay.

[RodneyS]

12 hours ago, MDstorm said:

I was a youngster when that storm occurred.  However, I distinctly remember that on Feb 17th (24-36 hours before the storm even began), AccuWeather was the first to see the possible magnitude of this storm.  The NWS and most private forecasters were not making a big deal about the storm.  Channel 11, which used AccuWeather at that time came on the air on the evening of Feb 17 and reported a "storm" dropping in from the Ohio Valley looked to explosively re-develop off the NC coast and result in a major snowstorm.  The following morning (Sunday), everyone's favorite met, Joe Bastardi, was on the radio and was quite emphatic about the huge potential of that storm (he did nail that one, ).  There was one private forecaster on the now defunct WCAO radio station who said during the morning of Feb 18th that he was not overly impressed with the storm, but later came back on in the afternoon and stated that he was stunned by the latest information that he had seen and he was all in for a big storm. (I don't think that it was the RAP or HRRRRRR  ).   Anyway, with up to 4 inches of cold powder per hour for a few hours, the snow piled up to historic levels and I had over a week off of school.  

I agree with you about AccuWeather, but I wasn't aware of its forecast until after the storm, when it began to receive favorable publlcity about its call.  

[stormtracker]

I was too young to remember it (3), but my mom and sisters told me about it.  The pics are incredible. 

[clueless]

I was living in Cleveland Park. Walked to Georgetown from Cleveland Park as soon as it cleared. There is a poster they sell of Georgetown from that storm. High point of undergrad. Lol. 

[clskinsfan]

5 hours ago, EastCoast NPZ said:

I have no memory of that one out here.  It may have been too early, but more likely we got fringed; a notable storm should've imprinted my memory.  The one in October later that year sure did.

I think we had 4-6 out this way. But there was another one later in February that got us I think?

[Interstate]

33 minutes ago, clueless said:

I was living in Cleveland Park. Walked to Georgetown from Cleveland Park as soon as it cleared. There is a poster they sell of Georgetown from that storm. High point of undergrad. Lol. 

Of bare ground. It must have been amazing walking from 23 inches to wet pavement. That would have been a sight to see. 

[WEATHER53]

2nd most drifting I’ve ever observed. 1966  number one 

[TJ3]

I only post on this board when it is about that storm. Yes it was life changing for me. Before then I loved snow because I was a teenager hoping to get out of school. After that day it was because I was fascinated by what the hell just happened. I thought I was the only one obsessed for years after that storm.  Thank God I found this place. With regards to the storm, waking at dawn and looking out my window that Monday morning is still one of the most shocking weather things I ever witnessed. I have not seen those rates in the DMV since. Honestly not even close . February ‘83 was incredible. But no. ‘96 it snowed forever but not close. Biggest drifts I have seen to this day. I have pictures somewhere from ‘66 my dad took. They were actually higher. But I was only 2 1/2 so no actual memory of it.  PD1 will stay with me forever. 

[southmdwatcher]

45 years ago today, AND this is still by far the best snow event of my life. Went to bed the night before at 11:30pm after the local TV forecast. We had 4 inches on the ground and the forecast called for another 4 inches. Woke up at 6am to a true intense blizzard. The cars were buried in snow and the houses across the street, less than 100 feet were barely visible for long periods. Drifts came up to nearly our 2nd story windows. One thing that still is etched in my memory, was the cars were totally packed in blowing snow, if one lifted up the hood, the engine area was a block of snow. As a 12 year old we could stand up in the tunnels we dug out in the back yard on the first day. Our street was not plowed, all the people on the street had to help dig out the street, which is only 100 yards from a main road. That was the end of the significant cold for the Winter. Just over a week later all the snow was a memory except the piles.

[southmdwatcher]

8 hours ago, dailylurker said:

Is this the one where it was almost 70 degrees the next day? Typical lol. Jan 25, 2000 was my 1979 storm. It happened during the day. 

January 25, 2000, is the greatest surprise snow event in the last 40 years. My memory is that we and the whole Northeast had a busted major storm/blizzard. After the busted blizzard, the weather was fine, but there was an outbreak of thunderstorms across the Southeast on the 24th. The weather forecast was still not indicating snow for the Mid Atlantic. However, THE sign was friends of mine from Charlotte NC, calling me early that afternoon on January 25, 2000, saying they were supposed to be 50 degrees with a few showers, and it was snowing heavily, with major accumulation. Radar continued to show the snow moving more northward than northeast. Our forecast was for a few flurries in DC and maybe minor accumulations up to an inch east of DC. Well, early evening the TV's all belted out the Winter Storm Warning's with accumulations of 8 to 12 inches and we still beat that. Still as amazing and surprising as that event was, PD1 on February 19, 1979, absolutely slammed that overnight.

[southmdwatcher]

18 hours ago, Terpeast said:

I wonder what the max totals were in that storm. 18.7” at dca and 20” at bwi seem low given the huge impact. Maybe it was the rates and wind, and the element of surprise? Or was there a local max DC and Southeast? I know IAD only got 16” so they couldn’t have been anywhere near the jack.

The maximum snowfall totals for sure were in southern Maryland. Eastern Charles County over to Calvert County and were over 30 inches. With the wind and drifting, we never got the exact maximum total.

[mahk_webstah]

18 hours ago, RodneyS said:

This article notes that Delaware received nearly 25 inches. https://vlab.noaa.gov/web/nws-heritage/-/unpredictable-the-president-s-day-storm-of-1979#:~:text=By Monday%2C February 19%2C snow,blocked%2C impassable even to snowplows.

What was memorable about that Sunday prior to the storm was the extreme cold -- the temperature ranges were 6 to 15 at DCA and -14 to 8 at IAD.

That was  great presentation!  I remember the storm.  I lived in Dover DE and we were the 25".  What a blast walking around in 5"/hour snow.  My best storm until Jan 6 96 in Philly.

[RodneyS]

1 hour ago, southmdwatcher said:

January 25, 2000, is the greatest surprise snow event in the last 40 years. My memory is that we and the whole Northeast had a busted major storm/blizzard. After the busted blizzard, the weather was fine, but there was an outbreak of thunderstorms across the Southeast on the 24th. The weather forecast was still not indicating snow for the Mid Atlantic. However, THE sign was friends of mine from Charlotte NC, calling me early that afternoon on January 25, 2000, saying they were supposed to be 50 degrees with a few showers, and it was snowing heavily, with major accumulation. Radar continued to show the snow moving more northward than northeast. Our forecast was for a few flurries in DC and maybe minor accumulations up to an inch east of DC. Well, early evening the TV's all belted out the Winter Storm Warning's with accumulations of 8 to 12 inches and we still beat that. Still as amazing and surprising as that event was, PD1 on February 19, 1979, absolutely slammed that overnight.

The Tuesday, January 25, 2000 snowstorm was a big surprise . . . until a new model run around 9:30 PM Monday evening.  I remember Channel 5 (DC) meteorologist Sue Palka leading the 10 PM News that evening with the major update to the forecast.  However, the Office of Personnel Management was not sure whether to believe the update, and so initially ordered the Federal Government to open.   Wisely, they reversed themselves around 7 AM on Tuesday and shut it down.  DCA received 9.3 inches that day and IAD received 10.3 inches. 

[gopper]

6 hours ago, TJ3 said:

I only post on this board when it is about that storm. Yes it was life changing for me. Before then I loved snow because I was a teenager hoping to get out of school. After that day it was because I was fascinated by what the hell just happened. I thought I was the only one obsessed for years after that storm.  Thank God I found this place. With regards to the storm, waking at dawn and looking out my window that Monday morning is still one of the most shocking weather things I ever witnessed. I have not seen those rates in the DMV since. Honestly not even close . February ‘83 was incredible. But no. ‘96 it snowed forever but not close. Biggest drifts I have seen to this day. I have pictures somewhere from ‘66 my dad took. They were actually higher. But I was only 2 1/2 so no actual memory of it.  PD1 will stay with me forever. 

My experience was very similar to yours.  I was 11 years old, always enjoyed snow, but this was the storm that I caught the "snow weenie illness".  I have not been the same since....lol.  Seriously, it changed me.

I remember that Sunday evening well.  My Grandmother who lived up the street from us in Baltimore, would come down to our house every Sunday night for Spaghetti night.  She made the spaghetti.  She was older and walked with a cane due to arthritis.  When it started snowing, she wanted to get back to her house quickly because she was not good with walking.  So, I went in front sweeping the sidewalk for her while my mother and Grandmother walked gingerly behind.

I remember watching Bob Turk that night (he was with WJZ forever and not even a met.).  It was probably the 6PM news.  His forecast was for 1-3 or 2-4.  So I went to bed with that in my mind.  Something woke me up very early in the morning.  It was the wind.  I had a window next to my bed, so I ducked my head under the curtain and looked outside.  I was really confused because I could hardly see a thing outside my window.  But I was able to see the orange glow of the sky due to the urban lights, so I knew it was still snowing.  I tipped toed downstairs because everyone was still sleeping.  I looked out the front door and absolutely could not believe my eyes!  It was snowing harder than I had ever seen before in my life.  I was amazed!!  I never thought it could snow that hard.  It was puking snow! (People on here use that word nowadays, but they have no idea what puking snow really looks like).  Our front porch was a covered porch, but there was two plus feet of snow right up to the front door due to the wind.  I wanted to keep the moment to myself, so I purposely, did not wake up my brothers or parents.  I spent the next hour or two going from window to window saying quietly, "WOW!" over and over again.

The next day all of the neighbors started to shovel out the street as we were told that the city was not going to be able to plow side streets for up to a week.  It was like a neighborhood party.  My school, which did not close for snow often, was out for a week!

The '83 blizzard was also very cool because we were out playing in it when the rounds of thunder snow came through.  I don't remember thunder snow from the '79 blizzard, but perhaps I slept through it.  Nothing will replace the euphoria I felt waking up on that Monday morning in Feb. of '79!

[dailylurker]

4 hours ago, southmdwatcher said:

January 25, 2000, is the greatest surprise snow event in the last 40 years. My memory is that we and the whole Northeast had a busted major storm/blizzard. After the busted blizzard, the weather was fine, but there was an outbreak of thunderstorms across the Southeast on the 24th. The weather forecast was still not indicating snow for the Mid Atlantic. However, THE sign was friends of mine from Charlotte NC, calling me early that afternoon on January 25, 2000, saying they were supposed to be 50 degrees with a few showers, and it was snowing heavily, with major accumulation. Radar continued to show the snow moving more northward than northeast. Our forecast was for a few flurries in DC and maybe minor accumulations up to an inch east of DC. Well, early evening the TV's all belted out the Winter Storm Warning's with accumulations of 8 to 12 inches and we still beat that. Still as amazing and surprising as that event was, PD1 on February 19, 1979, absolutely slammed that overnight.

Remember it like yesterday. I was expecting anything. I was out drinking under age at a buddies house. Drive home (I know, not good). When I got out of my car at midnight and looked up. The moon was gone and the wind had picked up in a weird way. I went inside and looked at the local on the 8's. The radar came on and I almost fell over. Their was a monster wall of snow right on my doorstep and racing nw. It went from a few flakes to an inch per hour within 15 minutes of starting. It was wild. I was only 3 months old for the blizzard of 79. My mom said I stared out the window for two days straight. I was born loving nature and all things weather related. 

[PrinceFrederickWx]

16 hours ago, BlizzardNole said:

I experienced 1996, 2010 and 2016 in upper MontCo, and PD 1979 surpasses them all!  I was 12 and in northern Calvert which was the jackpot of the region with 30-plus inch amounts, reports of 6" in one hour, and 8 foot drifts.  My mom and a friend staying with us went out at the height of the storm at around 5 am to the street about 100 feet away.  They almost got lost coming back to the house and said it was snowing sideways so intensely, it was tough to breathe.  I got up around 6 am and the first thing I noticed was the deck banisters cleared off and asked why'd you clear those.  Mom says oh that's the wind....go look outside.  I just stood there in awe of a white hurricane with winds that must have been gusting over 60 and snow filling the air completely.  After the sun came up you could see how wild it was -- there are woods about 70 feet behind the house and you could not see them at all.  It was just a steady roar and whiteout.  After it was over there was an unbroken drift from the roof to the ground on one side.  Cars were nothing but lumps.

If I saw something like this here in the current subtropical wasteland of Calvert, I think my head would just explode.