Washington DC might not get anywhere near as much snow as areas farther north, but a decent snowfall has a way of turning the city’s landmarks into a winter wonderland.
When we get big snowfalls they tend to be in January in February. The biggest snowstorm on record, known as the Knickerbocker Storm, was in late-January 1922. More recently, some of the biggest have come in late-January 2016 (dubbed by locals as Snowzilla), and double-whammy winter storms just before Christmas in 2009 (Snowpocalypse) and followed about six weeks later by an even bigger storm in early February 2010 (Snowmageddon).
Due to a confluence of factors, including that the DC area doesn’t have the infrastructure and snow budgets of some snowier regions, as well as a large portion of the very large population relying on above-ground transportation on roads and rail, even relatively minor snowstorms can have a crippling effect.
But there’s also a lot of open space for large blankets of snow to form and frame the area’s famous landmarks.
Photos of Washington DC in the Snow
Korean War Veterans Memorial. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelArlington National Cemetery. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelSome of the famous old cherry trees by the Tidal Basin. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelCross-country skiing on the National Mall by the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe Tidal Basin frozen over, with the Jefferson Memorial in the distance. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelLooking north along 15th Street NW in northwest DC next to the Treasury Building. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelHonor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. It was about 20° Fahrenheit at the time (approx. -7 Celsius). Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelWhite House Christmas Tree. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelWashington Monument. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool while it was undergoing repairs. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will Travel
Tourists dealing with the frigid temperatures. Taken along Independence Avenue between the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the DC World War I Memorial. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe DC World War One Memorial. This was before some renovations that cleared out some of the trees and bushes from the immediate area around the memorial. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelConstitution Gardens. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe Potomac frozen over, looking past Arlington Memorial Bridge to Rosslyn. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe Potomac, with Arlington Memorial Bridge in the distance. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelNational World War Two Memorial. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelOutside the White House. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe MLK Memorial. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelThe Lincoln Memorial. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelKorean War Veterans Memorial. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will Travel
Lincoln Memorial. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelAt the Tidal Basin leading into the FDR Memorial. Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will TravelJFK Hockey Fields (between Reflecting Pool and the Korean War Veterans Memorial). Photo by David Coleman / Have Camera Will Travel
