There's good news and bad news for snow fans in our Storm Team4 winter outlook.
First, the bad news: It's not looking like we'll see all that many snowflakes this year.
Now, here's the good news (again, assuming you're a fan of snow): We're not ruling out the possibility of a white Christmas.
Factors for predicting snowfall
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This winter, the D.C. area is heading into what looks like a weak La Niña.
La Niña is a cooling of the waters in the equatorial Pacific, which has a big influence on weather patterns around the world. Typically, a weak La Niña means less snow for our region — and that's what we're forecasting.
Taking a look at all the weak La Niñas in D.C. history, those winters have averaged 9.7" of snow for the area, much lower than our average annual snowfall of about 13.7".
Weather Stories
The coldest months this winter
Overall, expect this to be a warmer than average winter, but we should still get several bouts of cold temps — and it could get really cold at times.
The months with the greatest chance for major cold this winter are December and February. This could lead to a higher than normal chance of a white Christmas.
How much snow the DC area could get this winter
This will be an active winter regarding storms. As for the type of storms, though, they'll likely be moving up from the south. Storms coming from the south tend to bring warmer air along with them.
If enough cold air is in place, we could get several snow-to-rain or rain-to-snow events. If that's the case, however, the impact of those storms would be fairly light.
So, while we're not expecting storms to have a huge impact on our region this winter, if it gets cold enough, we could see road issues.
This year, Storm Team4 is predicting 6"-13" of snow in Washington, D.C., so this is a below-average forecast. Areas to the south and east of the metro area could get 2-6", while areas just to the west should get 13"-20" of snow.
Pat and Doug's 2024-25 Snow Stick Challenge
Don't miss your chance to win a Pat Collins Snow Stick!
Tell us what date and time you think the first inch of snow will fall at Reagan National Airport this season. If your guess is the closest without going past the time and date, you could win a Pat Collins Snow Stick.
