On this day in 1966, 6.7 inches of snow blanketed the District. It was a heavy, wet snow (the equivalent of an inch of rain). The high temperature was 37, and the low was 33. “Washington’s first real snowfall of the season laid between five and eight inches of heavy slush on the area yesterday, hobbling traffic movement all over and causing suburban schools to close early,” the front page The Washington Post reported the next day.
It marked the first of four snow events that December. It also snowed 0.6 inches on Dec. 20; 7 inches on Dec. 23 and 24 (making for a rare white Christmas); and 1.8 inches on Dec. 28. The monthly snowfall of 16.1 inches ranks as the third-most on record for December.
Also, on this date, it soared to a record high of 71 degrees in 2015. It was the first of three days to reach at least 70 degrees that December, which was the warmest on record.
Here are other notables for this day:
- Average high: 49
- Average low: 35
- Record high: 71 (2015)
- Record low: 11 (1960)
- Record precipitation: 2.43 inches (1909)
- Maximum snow: 6.7 inches (1966)
