On this date in 1889, a calendar-day record 4 inches of snow fell, the most observed so late in the season. The storm produced the equivalent of 2.23 inches of precipitation from the snow’s water content and heavy rain that preceded it.
“In Washington, D.C., rain turned to snow by 8:30 a.m.,” the National Weather Service reported. “By 10:30, lightning and thunder were observed, leaving residents in awe. … The blizzard caused thousands of dollars in damage, as telegraph and telephone lines were downed in great numbers. The White House had its communications cut off by the storm between 1 and 2 p.m., as the weight of the wet snow downed area lines.”
According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, the heaviest snow fell between Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the Shenandoah Valley, with a foot reported in Winchester and Staunton and up to 18 inches in Spotsylvania County.
The storm brought hurricane-like winds and a tidal surge to the Virginia Tidewater. “Gusts exceeded 100 mph at the Signal Service station in Cape Henry,” the Weather Service reported. “Trees were uprooted and sand dunes quickly transformed into quicksand during the heavy rain. … Lower portions of Norfolk flooded as tides rose to 8.4 feet.”
And on this day in 2017, multiple tornadoes touched down in the D.C. area, including one that carved a path from South Arlington through the Tidal Basin and into D.C.’s H Street Corridor. Additional weak twisters, rated EFo on the o to 5 Enhanced Fujita scale, were confirmed in Northern Virginia.
Here are other notables from this day:
- Average high: 65
- Average low: 45
- Record high: 92 (1942)
- Record low: 26 (1898)
- Record precipitation: 2.23 inches (1889)
- Record snowfall: 4.0 inches (1889)
