Snowfall Scarce Following February 50s; Washington Snow Rare Immediately After Warm Temperatures

The weather-wise are all a-Twitter over the prospect of snowfall in the Washington, DC region on Sunday, but the situation is giving forecasters fits. There's a good reason for that, since warm-February snows, while not impossible, are rare.

Since official records were kept at or near the current location at National Airport beginning in 1930, there have been only 8 instances in which 2" or more of snow fell in the calendar day following a day with temperatures of 50° or higher. With today's high of 54° and a similar reading expected tomorrow, there is a considerable climatological obstacle to overcome. In fact, there have been only 5 cases in which a 2"+ snowfall followed a day with a high above 53°.

The most recent instance of significant snow following 50°+ temperatures was on Feb. 22, 2001, when 2.8" of snow followed a previous day's high of 57°. That was preceded by a 3.6" snowfall on the same date in 1986, following a temperature of 56°.

The full list of February 2"+ snowfalls on the day after 50°+ temperatures is:

Date     Snowfall Temperature
2/16/1937 5.6       52
2/14/1940 2.5       53
2/17/1945 2.6       60
2/11/1955 2.5       63
2/17/1967 5.7       63
2/8/1974  4.0       50
2/22/1986 3.6       56
2/22/2001 2.8       57 

Image (click to enlarge) Washington, DC 2"+ snowfalls on the day following temperatures of 50° or higher, CapitalClimate chart from National Weather Service data, background image © Kevin Ambrose (www.weatherbook.com)