Around half a foot of snow fell early Monday during the first half of the D.C. region’s first winter storm of 2025, with another burst of winter weather not far behind that could send snow totals in the double digits.
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How snow plows tackle snow in the DMV
Around half a foot of snow fell early Monday during the first half of the D.C. region’s first winter storm of 2025, with another burst of winter weather arriving Monday evening that shut down Reagan National Airport’s runways and could send snow totals in the double digits.
The D.C. area is under a winter storm warning, issued by the National Weather Service, through 1 a.m. Tuesday.
According to WTOP Meteorologist Mike Stinneford, a mixture of light snow and sleet was still falling in D.C.’s northern suburbs early Monday afternoon, with other parts of the region seeing a break before the next widespread round of snow showers set in late afternoon into Monday evening.
“Another 1 to 3 inches of snow will fall, so it looks like it’s going to be about 6 to 10, 6 to 11 for the entire storm across the region,” Stinneford said.
Snow will taper off around midnight, according to Stinneford.
If parts of the region do see 11 inches, it would be the biggest snow event in nearly a decade.
“The last time we had 11 inches was on Jan. 23 of 2016. … That storm delivered a total of 17.8″ of snowfall that ended the following day,” Johnson said Sunday evening.
Snowfall totals
Estimates of snowfall totals from the National Weather Service, as of 3 p.m.:
- Garrett Park, Maryland: 6.1 inches
- Herndon, Virginia: 5 inches
- Ellicott City, Maryland: 5.1 inches
- Culpeper, Virginia, 7.5 inches
- Londontowne, Maryland, 8.1 inches
- Chesapeake Beach, Maryland: 10 inches
- Anacostia, D.C.: 7.7 inches
- Franconia, Virginia: 7.8 inches
These snowfall totals will be updated throughout the day.
Closings and delays
Reagan National Airport closed its runways Monday evening, according to an airport spokesperson.
Emily McGee, with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, told WTOP in a statement the decision to close the airport’s runways was made “to fully remove all snow and slush in advance of the extreme cold” Monday night.
Based on the forecast, McGee said MWAA does not foresee the runways reopening before Tuesday morning. Airport terminals are still open with limited services, the statement said.
School systems across the D.C. region have already announced they’ll be closed Tuesday, with more announcements expected Monday night.
See the full list of updated closings and delays here.
Meanwhile the governors of both Maryland and Virginia declared states of emergency, increasing staffing and making more resources available to deal with the wintry blast.
“Everyone needs to remain vigilant,” Md. Gov. Wes Moore said. “Please stay off the roads. Unless there is an emergency or a reason that you need to be on them. And allow the emergency personnel to be able to ensure that we can get the roads clean and keep them safe for every single Marylander.”
In D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a snow emergency through the end of Tuesday. The decision activates several snow-related emergency powers, including the right to tow any cars parked along emergency snow routes during the storm.
To avoid getting your vehicle removed, check out the marked routes on the D.C. government website.
Refreeze concerns this week
In the three days immediately following this snowstorm, temperatures will remain bitterly cold, according to Stinneford.
“Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we will struggle to get up to freezing, with temperatures in the teens and 20s every night. A lot of the snow pack sticks around. Highs Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday, upper 20s to lower 30s.”
Any snow that does manage to melt during the day, creating moisture on roads, will freeze each night as temperatures plummet below 20 degrees in many places. Drivers should expect patches of ice on area roads throughout the week, especially at night and early in the morning.
Latest forecast
MONDAY AFTERNOON: Areas of light freezing rain, sleet and snow. Precipitation becoming all snow and increasing in intensity by late afternoon. Highs upper 20s to lower 30s
MONDAY NIGHT: Snow showers, ending by midnight. Additional accumulations of 1 to 3 inches. Partial clearing and becoming windy overnight. Lows in the low to mid 20s
TUESDAY: Partly to mostly sunny, windy and cold. Highs in the low to mid 30s
WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy, windy and cold. Highs low to mid 30s
THURSDAY: Partly cloudy. Highs in the lower 30s
FRIDAY: Increasing cloudiness. Highs mid 30s
Current conditions
Outages
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