Washington, D.C

Early snowfall expected Saturday before shift to rain across DC region

Published

2 years ago

January 3, 2024

Early snowfall expected Saturday before shift to rain across DC region

DC snow forecast: First significant snowfall of season expected Saturday

A slushy mix of snow could be on the ground by Saturday afternoon as the Washington, D.C. area prepares for its first significant snowfall of the season.

BETHESDA, Md. (FOX 5 DC) – The FOX 5 Weather Team has been closely monitoring a winter storm that is expected to impact the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic on Saturday and Sunday.

With new data and projections coming in, what are our latest expectations? Let’s dive in!

As for timing, the latest projections are now leaning towards a faster overall storm. This means one that begins earlier on Saturday, as early as the middle morning hours, but one that wraps up faster as well.

Most projections show the storm leaving our region before the midnight hour on Saturday night.

This would leave Sunday as a cold and windy, but dry, day for any clean-up or digging out that parts of our region will have to do in its wake.

With the timing of the storm itself coming better into focus, the issue then becomes hammering out the details of what that means for the storm.

Typically, the coldest part of the day is just before dawn, while the warmest is in the middle of the afternoon. This means that the earlier the storm arrives, the more likely it is to start as wintry precipitation. We believe this will be the case with this storm.

D.C., Baltimore, and even parts of southern Maryland may see this system begin as snow or sleet as early as 9-10 a.m. on Saturday.

Most guidance shows a healthy pool of cold air in place during the morning hours. The key to snowfall totals is how fast this cold area will erode and retreat northward.

By the middle of the afternoon and progressing through the evening hours, as the storm system starts to intensify to our south, winds will pick up out of the south and east.

This is important because those winds will carry some southern and Atlantic “warmth” into the region. That typically happens above the surface first, causing snow to turn over to mix and sleet pellets, before changing over to all rain as the warm layer expands.

The question for us forecasters is how far north and west this rain/snow line will progress, and more recent trends have continued to push that line farther and farther west.

While western areas will still see higher snowfall totals because they are expected to stay snowing longer, a change over to mix at any point will reduce totals compared to pure snow.

READ MORE: DC snow forecast: Most significant snowfall in 2 years possible Saturday for parts of DC metro area

At this time, FOX 5 has not seen any weather models that show all the snow for D.C. and Baltimore. Expectations are that after a wintry start, it will change over to rain pretty quickly in the afternoon.

This change is not expected to come until the late afternoon and evening for those areas to the far northwest.

So what are our latest expectations?

While we do believe D.C. starts as snow and mix, and potentially could even see a little slushy accumulation during the morning and lunchtime hours mostly, we do favor a change over to an at times heavy, cold rain that will likely naturally wash away any accumulation received for the most part.

Mother Nature will likely do her plowing on this one in the immediate D.C. and Baltimore areas.

Once you get west of the I-95 corridor, we are expecting about 2-4″ of wet snow out closer to the highlands, with, of course, the most expected in the mountains west of the I-81 corridor.

For those areas out to the west. As you get up towards the elevation climb in northern Montgomery, Frederick, Carroll, and Fauquier counties — the question is not so much about whether you will see snow longer – but instead about how heavy that snow could be.

Light snow is picky. Ground temperatures have to be below freezing for it to stick, otherwise it simply melts on contact.

Heavier snow is much more tricky. Snow can pile up on just about any surface as long as the rate at which it is falling is faster than the rate at which the ground can melt it.

Whether or not a band of heavy, thumping snow will be present with this storm is something that weather computers have been struggling with over the last couple of days.

When news breaks, stream FOX 5 DC anytime. Get the FOX Local app on your smart TV.

The American model, seen above, has been the most aggressive with the snow coming down heavily for several hours early Saturday afternoon just north and west of D.C. before the eventual changeover to mix and rain.

What we would call a “boom” scenario shows 4-8″ as close as western Loudoun, Northern Fauquier and Montgomery counties, and Frederick and Carroll counties.

This will be a threat to monitor going forward.

On the other hand, the oftentimes more reliable European weather model shown above is considerably less impressive with snowfall rates. This leads to a little more ground melt occurring and keeps snowfall totals more suppressed before a faster changeover to mixing compared to its American counterpart.

The rate of initial snowfall and the speed of the changeover are the two keys that will lead to this storm being a boom or a bust in those western zones.

As for the rest of the Northeast, most models show that D.C. will not be the only major city to suffer the wrath of the dreaded rain/snow line. Other I-95 cities like Philadelphia, and New York City may miss out on some of the larger totals as eastern winds and mild air of the Atlantic lead to mixing. Cold air is expected to fight harder in the interior Northeast, however. Boston will likely get one of the better snowstorms of the past few winters out of this winter storm, while some interior parts of New England could see around a foot of snow.

Even around the Mid-Atlantic, local ski resorts in our mountains could do quite well with the coming storm.

Once we get beyond the weekend, is there anything else that we have our eyes on?

Well, the first major blizzard of 2024 could arrive early next week — just not in the D.C. region. The stronger storms usually have a better model agreement about a week in advance, and both the American and European models are in strong agreement of a major storm in the Midwest early next week, centered around next Tuesday.

It could be the first storm that gets widespread blizzard warnings, particularly in the Upper Midwest, so travelers next week be warned!

For the D.C. region, the center of this storm is expected to pass far to our west. Without a major block in place to force the storm onto the coastline, we are not talking about a blizzard threat here in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The storm could drag up so much warmth on its eastern flank that temperatures on Tuesday could approach 60°F on Tuesday afternoon and evening. However, the morning hours will need to be monitored. Cold air in place with a retreating high pressure to the north could lead to something known as “cold air damming,” which is where a northeast wind traps low-level cold air up against the Appalachian Mountains.

This could lead to some quick morning snow or ice that could make roadways slick for the morning commute, potentially impacting local schools.

It is something we will have our eyes on closely over the next week.

FOX 5 will continue to keep you up to date on these storms, and any more that happen to come our way this winter season.

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Washington, D.C

Storm Team4 Forecast: A chilly, gusty Sunday before a cool start to the week

Published

7 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Storm Team4 Forecast: A chilly, gusty Sunday before a cool start to the week

4 things to know about the weather:

Chances of rain in the morning
Gusty Sunday
Chilly Monday
Temps will rise again through the work week

Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.

After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.

The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.

Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.

However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.

QuickCast

SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s

MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s

Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.

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Washington, D.C

‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington

The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest.

In a sweltering hot Washington DC this week, the message at the International Monetary Fund meetings was chilling: things had been looking up for living standards around the world. But then came the Iran war.

“Some countries are in panic,” said the fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, addressing the finance ministers and central bank bosses in town for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. “The sooner it [the Iran war] ends, the better for everybody.”

Such gatherings are not typically used to fight geopolitical battles. “You don’t get people shouting at one another at these things,” one senior figure remarked. But, as a record-breaking April heatwave swept the US capital, no one could ignore the mounting damage from the Iran war.

Those familiar with the mood over breakfast at a meeting of the G20’s representatives on Thursday, which included Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the outgoing US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell – said the atmosphere in the room was sombre amid an open exchange of serious views.

“It is such a twilight-zone meeting,” said Mohamed El-Erian, a former IMF deputy managing director who is now chief economic adviser at the Allianz insurance group. “There are several shadows hanging over it: one is the shadow that comes from concern about the global economy as a whole.

“The second is that some countries are going to be particularly hard hit, and it’s mostly countries that very few people are talking about. But the third concern is the adding of insult to injury: the fact that the US, which started a war of choice, is going to be hit, but by a lot less than elsewhere in relative terms.”

Before Thursday’s breakfast, Rachel Reeves had started her day with an early-morning jog. Joined by her counterparts from Spain, Australia and New Zealand for a run down the iconic National Mall, she posted an Instagram selfie with a not-so-subtle dig: “Friends that run together – work together.”

A day earlier, the chancellor had told a CNBC conference that she thought “friends are allowed to disagree on things” as she criticised Trump’s Iran war as a “mistake” and a “folly” that had not made the world safer.

Rachel Reeves posted this image on Instagram from Washington DC on Thursday with the message: ‘Friends that run together – work together.’ Photograph: Rachel Reeves/Instagram

Speaking at a venue just steps away from the White House, before a one-on-one meeting with Bessent, she said this “fair message” was needed because UK families and businesses were feeling the pain from higher energy prices triggered by the conflict.

Those close to Reeves insist her meeting remained cordial. Britain and the US have significant shared interests in AI, financial services and trade. The chancellor also said the UK government had little time for the Iranian regime.

But with the IMF having warned on Tuesday that the Iran war could risk a global recession – in which Britain would be the biggest G7 casualty – it was clear Reeves had travelled to Washington ready to pick a fight.

“I’m struck by how vocal she has been and the words she used,” said one global financier. “We know the disagreement between Bessent and [European Central Bank president] Christine Lagarde earlier in the year. But that was in private.”

At a cocktail party held at the British ambassador’s residence for hundreds of diplomats and financiers – including the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan, and dozens of senior figures – this transatlantic tension, weeks before King Charles’s US state visit, was a major topic of conversation.

The other, in the balmy residence gardens, was one of its former occupants, Peter Mandelson, as revelations about the former ambassador’s appointment threatened to further rock the UK government.

Before the war, the agenda for the IMF had been about global cooperation; the adoption of AI, jobs and work to eradicate poverty. Each of those tasks had now been complicated, but not least the task of countries working together.

For many at the meetings, the focus was on forging closer global cooperation without the world’s pre-eminent superpower.

“Everybody is talking about how you hedge against American decisions,” said David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary, who now runs the International Rescue Committee. “You can’t do without them, because they’re 25% of the global economy. But, in a lot of fora, they’ve pulled out.

“So everyone has to think, how does one structure international cooperation? The old west is not coming back. And so everyone has to figure out how to position themselves for that world.”

For those gathering in Washington, there was irony in the fact that they were meeting in the halls of institutions founded, under US leadership, to promote global cooperation after the second world war. The whole idea of the Bretton Woods institutions was to avoid the dire economic conditions and warfare of the 1930s and 1940s. Yet this year’s meeting was taking place amid these intertwining problems.

In their conversations about the best economic policy response to the shock of conflict, the economists also knew the real power to make a difference lay two blocks across town from the IMF and the World Bank – behind the security cordons and construction equipment blocking the White House from public view. “It is not clear they can do anything about it,” said El-Erian.

Still, with a booming economy driven by AI – including Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model, the topic of much conversation – most countries cannot afford to completely break off US ties.

“People want to find ways to insulate themselves from the mess. But, on the other hand, they admire the US private sector,” El-Erian said. “The best way I’ve heard it put, is: they want to go long the private sector and short the mess. But it’s almost impossible to do.”

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