Heavy snow shuts down Washington DC, but it also transforms the National Mall, its monuments, and other Washington landmarks like the White House into a winter wonderland.
Washington’s weather is best known for being hot and humid in summer, but the region also gets a good dose of each of the other three seasons. It doesn’t get anything like the regular snow of places further north, but it can still get some big dumps of snow. Most of it typically comes in January and February, although it’s naturally variable with outliers.
The historical average in even the snowiest months is still under 6 inches, but that doesn’t tell the whole story, because the area can be prone to some big storms. The record holder so far goes all the way back to 1922, with the Knickerbocker storm dumping 28 inches. More recently storms in 2016, 2010, 2009, and 2003 have all dumped over 16 inches.
And while even small amounts of snow can create a surprisingly large amount of havoc for the area’s legions of commuters and it forces many schools to close–and even sometimes the federal government–it also transforms the National Mall, its monuments, and other Washington landmarks like the White House into a winter wonderland.
Here’s a sampling of some of the photos I’ve taken in DC during various snowstorms, including the Snowmageddon (2010) and Snowzilla (2016) storms and the much smaller but still significant Snurlough (2019) storm.
I'm a freelance travel photographer based in Washington DC. Seven continents, up mountains, underwater, and a bunch of places in between. My images have appeared in numerous publications, and you can check out some of my gear reviews and tips here. More »
