Posted in D.C.
January 05, 2018
It’s Impossible To Forget These 6 Horrific Winter Storms That Have Gone Down In DC History
DC and snow is a complicated relationship. We love snow days, we hate shoveling. We complain its cold but always want the forecast to say snow. It’s a safe bet that no matter who you are in DC, you have some feeling toward snow. While we haven’t had an epic blizzard yet this year (thankfully!), we are experiencing some frigid temperatures. If you want to complain about the cold, let’s remember it’s not that bad by looking back at the six worst winter storms in DC history.
The Knickerbocker storm was the worst storm in DC's history. It took place on January 27-28, 1922 and dumped 28 inches of snow on DC. It's called the Knickerbocker Blizzard because of the tragic event that took place due to the storm. The Knickerbocker Theatre was the largest and newest movie house at the time and during the storm, the roof collapsed killing 98 people and injuring 133.
The Blizzard of 1996 is notable because we went from no snow to 12 inches in just 24 hours. The storm occurred on January 6-8 and the final snow fall was over 17 inches. The federal government was closed for a week and property damage estimates range from $600 million to $3 billion.
The Presidents Day snow took place over Presidents Weekend from Sunday February 16th through Tuesday, February 18th. The snowfall was 16 inches in DC and in nearby Baltimore, they experienced over 28 inches of snow.
Snowpocalypse was the first of two snowstorm during the 2009-2010 winter. It took place December 18-19th over a weekend and by Monday, most schools and businesses were open. It also gave DC a rare white Christmas the following week.
Snowmageddon was one of the worst recent snowstorms in DC. Thousands were without power as over 17 inches of snow fell on February 5-6. The snow was so deep that it covered at least 16 rows of names at the Vietnam Memorial on the National Mall.
The Blizzard of 2016 not only shut down DC but also, a large part of the Eastern seaboard! Almost everything to a stop in DC on January 20th, 2016 as the snow started to fall accumulating between one and three feet across the DMV area.
Do you remember any of these historic storms?
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
