On this day in 1996, the massive Blizzard of 1996 produced a calendar-day record 13 inches of snow. By the time the storm ended on Jan. 8, snowfall ranged from 15 inches in southeast portions of the area to 25 inches in the far north and west suburbs. National Airport received 17.1 inches of snow, Washington Dulles International Airport 24.6 inches, and Baltimore-Washington International Airport 22.5 inches.
A prolonged dry slot and changeover to sleet during the middle of the storm kept it from rivaling the Knickerbocker Snowstorm of 1922, the biggest on record for DC.
The storm ranks as one of the most extreme East Coast snowstorms on record, as it produced double digit totals from western North Carolina to Boston. It is one of only two snowstorms, along with the Blizzard of March 1993, to be rated a “5” on the 0-5 Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale.
Up to three feet of snow fell in the mountains west of DC.
Although the storm mostly occurred over a weekend, schools and businesses were shut down for much of the following week in the DC area, when two more storms produced even more snowfall resulting in very deep snowpack.
A surprise "clipper" dropped 1 to 5 inches of snow on the area several days after the blizzard which was followed by another 3 to 12 inches of snow a few days later.
Then a sudden thaw and rainstorm resulted in rapid snow melt and historic flooding along the Potomac River. The floodwaters pushed up the flood pole that is maintained by the National Park Service at Great Falls. The water level at Great Falls ranked as the sixth highest on record.
Additional reading on the storm:
- Whiteout: 30 Years Later, Look Back at the Historic Blizzard of 1996 (Northern Virginia magazine)
- The Blizzard of ‘96 in Retrospect (National Weather Service)
Here are other notables for the day:
- Average high: 45
- Average low: 31
- Record high: 76 (1907)
- Record low: 5 (1884)
- Record precipitation: 1.33 inches (1908)
- Record snowfall: 13.0 inches (1996)
Kevin Ambrose contribute to this report.
