MN Transplant

1 hour ago, Terpeast said:

(Source: CWG WaPo)
 

This winter deserves high marks just for this reason alone. I know I know, frustrating tracking season and tons of teeth gnashing over near misses… but the snow/ice cover and duration of cold is impressive. 

With how much I have on the ground now, still 4-5”, I’m making a run for 21 days 

The last few weeks will be great fodder for arguments about the best regional winter events.  Basically, can you separate the event itself from the “aftermath”?  Everyone wants a Jan ‘16 storm with a Jan ‘26 freeze, but in the end, which combo (big snow/melt, modest snow/freeze) is your favorite?

Lost an inch since yesterday, down to 4".  The difference between distributed areas (footsteps, etc.) and untouched areas is dramatic.

KH waves are always nice to see

45.1.  Funny to see the mid-upper 50s out in Garrett Co and Frostburg.

21 minutes ago, RodneyS said:

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.

 

I wonder where the storm would rank all-time just simply on frozen precipitation.  Basically, how many 2.00" liquid equivalent storms have we had in our area.

If we're done, I'm still giving this winter somewhere in the B range.  Yes, we'd finish below normal snowfall, but the last two weeks have been the most impressive stretch of pure winter in my 21 years in the DC area. 

5 minutes ago, WxUSAF said:

Deep winter weekend, no way to argue that, but the extreme temp forecasts definitely underperformed. 

The GFS has outperformed the Euro on temps for the globals, and the NAM has been much better than the HRRR.

One thing that I noticed that was not surprising was that the AI models did not handle the wind gusts well.  They were too muted, as is to be expected with more extreme events.

Peaks gusts at the airports 

DCA: 58

BWI: 57

IAD: 52

1 minute ago, yoda said:

 

Weak sauce

43mph on my anemometer through the trees ties my top gust since 2021 (localized microburst).  We probably won't see the near 60mph number that the NWS was saying was possible, but this is an impressive event.

• 12/5 - 1.9"
• 12/14 - 1.3"
• 1/26 - 8.5"
• 2/6 - 0.2"

Total - 11.9"

DCA to 54mph.  My backyard is littered with sticks.

Coldest wind chill I can find in the broader region is Bradford, PA (NW PA) at -35F within the last 30 minutes.

The three airports have already gusted into the upper 40s.  Temps are still dropping.  Pretty nasty out there.

2 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

Looks like the NAM/NAMNEST/latest HRRR really backed off on the wind?

Peak wind gust IMBY:

12z Euro:  54mph

18z HRRR:  50mph

18z NAM: 46mph

18z HRDPS:  56mph

Ground is whitening.  Might squeeze out something measurable.

Lazy flakes.  29.2

My NWS point-and-click has a 60mph gust for noon tomorrow.  I'm not sure I've seen something like that since the big March windstorm in the late 2010s.

6 minutes ago, SomeguyfromTakomaPark said:

How good are HRRR surface temps?  It barely has DC getting above 10 tomorrow.

Consider them the outlier right now.  Probably a bit too cold.  Mid-teens in the afternoon is a better bet.

We are going to ruin a top-tier cold day on Saturday with a midnight high.  

Here's a fun one - the last time that DCA (current airport location) had a consecutive week below freezing with at least 5" of snow on the ground was...never.

1989 had a longer streak, but less snow on the ground (2-4")

1979 had a similar streak, but some of the days had 4"

1961 had a 13 day stretch where it hit 33 twice (3-9")

6 minutes ago, Eskimo Joe said:

GIMME

Road trip to PA?

10 hours ago, WEATHER53 said:

10pm 27.7

Still have 5.5-6.5” everywhere, down 1.5 from peak 7-8 after compaction from 9” storm.  The snow on the bottom is still as light and fluffy as the moment it fell. 

It is wild to look at the snowpack from the side, especially adjacent to sidewalks.  The sleet layer is forming a shelf as the snow melts/sublimates away.  Still 5.5" here too.

The HRRR verbatim at 12z Saturday is single digit temps and wind gusts approaching 50mph.  That would be rare territory around here.

We’ve had some unpleasant days this winter, but Saturday might top them all.  That wind is going to hurt.

The Euro is always too high with gusts, but it is putting out mid-50mph on Saturday.  Shave 10 off of that and it is still a nasty day.