On this date in 2003, a tremendous snow and sleet storm was underway that shut down the DC area and the entire northeast Megalopolis over the Presidents’ Day weekend. The average snowfall from DC to Boston almost equaled the Blizzard of 1996.
The storm evolved from a potent coastal system that tapped deep Atlantic moisture while cold air remained firmly in place. Capital Weather Gang coverage noted how the system’s slow movement allowed heavy precipitation to persist for an extended period, with snow falling steadily and at times heavily from Feb. 15 into Feb. 17. A period of sleet mixed in closer to the immediate DC area, slightly cutting into totals there but adding to the storm’s complexity and weight on surfaces.
The storm “left most streets empty of cars,” The Washington Post reported. “People trudged down the middle of thoroughfares that few vehicles, save occasional sport-utility vehicles, could navigate.” With travel nearly impossible, the region effectively shut down for days,
Officially, 16.7 inches of snow fell at Reagan National Airport, while 22.1 inches fell at Washington Dulles International Airport. At Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, 28.2 inches of snow fell, breaking Baltimore’s snowstorm record, set in January 1922. Generally, 20 to 28 inches of snow fell in Washington’s western and northern suburbs, while 15 to 20 inches fell from the District to the south.
Here are other notables for the day:
- Average high: 49
- Average low: 32
- Record high: 75 (1954)
- Record low: 5 (1905)
- Record precipitation: 2.14 inches (2003)
- Record snowfall: 13.3 inches (2003)
