What would it take for Friday’s expected storm to be considered truly historic? In the Washington, D.C.-region, the answer would be a snowfall measuring more than 16 inches. Eight snowstorms have surpassed this mark dating back to 1899, according to National Weather Service (NWS) snowfall amounts recorded at National Airport in Washington. However, many of these storms brought more snowfall to Montgomery County than neighboring D.C., according to news reports from the time.
Here’s what they were like:
1. The Knickerbocker Storm
A screenshot of the front page of The Baltimore Sun after the Knickerbocker Theatre collapse in 1922.
Date: Jan. 27-29, 1922
NWS official measurement: 28 inches
This storm got its name after the weight of the heavy snowfall collapsed the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre in Washington, D.C.,knocking down the theater’s balcony and part of its walls. The collapse killed 98 people and injured 133. Three miles north of downtown D.C., snowfall from the storm was measured at 33 inches in Rock Creek Park.
Emergency officials and onlookers outside the Knickerbocker Theatre. Wikimedia Commons
2. The Great Arctic Outbreak and Blizzard of February 1899
Date: Feb. 12-14, 1899
NWS official measurement: 20 inches
After a bitterly cold two-week period across the United States that saw ice flowing from the mouth of the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico, this powerful storm dumped nearly 2 feet of snow on the Washington, D.C., region.
A 1988 study of the historic storm published in a weather journal noted that, “while other storms have also produced very heavy snow accumulations along the length of the Northeast urban corridor between Virginia and Maine, few have produced such large accumulations, in combination with temperatures of 10 degrees or lower to result in severe blizzard conditions. Also, the elements have rarely combined to bring a major snowfall to both the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from the same storm system.” The study notes that even Southern cities such as Jacksonville, Florida, and Atlanta received more than an inch of snow from the storm.
3. The President’s Day Snowstorm of 1979
Photos via NWS
Date: Feb. 18-19, 1979
NWS official measurement: 18.7 inches
This snowstorm was the highlight of a very snowy month in Maryland. The National Weather Service reports that it was the wettest month of the century in the state and a total of 30 inches of snow fell during February 1979. It was also the coldest month in 80 years for the Baltimore-Washington area, with temperatures averaging 25 degrees, according to NWS.
The weather service notes this specific storm dropped nearly 20 inches in Baltimore and Washington, although the suburbs in between received more snow. The snowstorm dropped flakes at an extremely high rate—about 2 inches per hour during some—which added up. The weather service wrote at the time that the storm brought “the greatest amount of snow ever recorded in a 24-hour period in the [area] during the month of February.”
4. Snowmageddon 2010
Skiers in downtown Bethesda after Snowmageddon. Photo via Bethesda Actually
Date: Feb. 5-6, 2010
NWS official measurement: 17.8 inches
This one is most likely easy for most current residents of Bethesda to remember because it crippled the region for nearly a week after it hit. NWS recorded an official measurement of 17 inches in Bethesda. The storm made a mess of local roadways, even forcing President Barack Obama to give up his souped-up Cadillac limousine for a more snow-ready Chevy Suburban to get around the region, according to CNN. At one point, the storm knocked out power to more than 81,000 Pepco customers in Montgomery County.
A man attempts to shovel out a SUV stuck on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda during the 2010 storm. Photo by Flickr user Pasunejen.
5. The Blizzard of ‘96
Snowfall totals from the Blizzard of '96 via Accuweather
Date: Jan. 7-9, 1996
NWS official measurement: 17.3 inches
Six deaths and damage to more than 700 homes and businesses in Maryland were attributed to this storm, which struck in early January 1996. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Potomac River rose to nearly its highest level ever due to the storm’s heavy precipitation—nearly topping the level set during Hurricane Agnes in 1972. The storm was particularly vicious due to wind gusts over 50 mph, which NOAA reported were common during the blizzard.
6. The Megalopolitan Blizzard
Houses and vehicles covered in snow in Frederick, Maryland, after the Megalopolitan Blizzard. Photo via Washington Weather
Date: Feb. 10-11, 1983
NWS official measurement: 16.6 inches
In parts of Montgomery County, snowfall from this storm exceeded the totals recorded in the Knickerbocker storm. For example, Germantown received 30 inches of snow, The Washington Post reported. The storm also brought the rare thundersnow to the region, in which lightning is created when cold air is pushed forcefully into warm air in the atmosphere. Around D.C., snow fell at an unusually high rate of 3 inches per hour, according to the Post, and the heavy snow led to the closure of all three regional airports and the entire Metro subway system.
7. The Holiday Blizzard of 2009
Wheaton residents clear snow from cars after the December 2009 blizzard. Photo via Elizabeth Buie on Flicker.
Date: Dec. 18-19, 2009
NWS official measurement: 16.4 inches
Snowfall in this storm ranged from 16 to 23 inches and caused some local schools to cancel classes until after New Year’s Day with Christmas break already approaching. The Washington Redskins brought in 1,200 workers to remove an estimated 25 million pounds of snow from FedEx Field in Landover so the team could play a home game Dec. 20. YouTube videos shot during and after the storm show whiteout conditions and piles of pillowy snow covering houses in Silver Spring.
8. The Blizzard of 2003
Scenes from Silver Spring after the 2003 snowstorm. Photos by Beth Newman.
Date: Feb. 16-18, 2003
NWS official measurement: 16.4 inches
While D.C. may have received only a little more than 16 inches of snowfall in this mid-February storm, CNN reported that Silver Spring received 25 inches. Even farther north, the storm brought the most snow ever recorded to Baltimore—26.8 inches. Anne Arundel County was so swamped with snow that it hired 25 drivers with front-end loaders at more than $100 per hour to drive alongside county trucks to clear snow, CNN reported at the time.
Complete National Weather Service snowfall records for D.C. region:
