Washington, D.C
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.
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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.
WASHINGTON (7News) — Tuesday was the last day the D.C. Council could vote to enact an expanded curfew in time for summer.
7News learned it never even made it on the agenda for a discussion and went to council members to find out why.
For the next two months, it’ll be up to the mayor to declare a curfew until the permanent version kicks in. There is already a city curfew. The curfew that has been up for debate for more than a year is the expanded version of the curfew. The expanded version allows the Metropolitan Police Department to create zones where teens 17 and under cannot gather in groups of nine or more.
RELATED | DC curfews pushed large groups into local neighborhoods, some residents say
Mayor Muriel Bowser currently has her own curfew order in place, which ends Saturday. The mayor can continue issuing an order. Councilmembers against the expanded curfew said that’s why it doesn’t need to come from the council.
In a video posted two weeks ago, D.C Council public safety chair Brooke Pinto said she wanted her councilmembers to vote to fill the gap today. 7News asked her why she never presented it to the council.
“Unfortunately, in working with my colleagues over the last several weeks, we did not have the votes,” said Pinto. “We have to have enough votes to pass the law and make sure that we didn’t have a gap.”
Bowser, in a letter to council Tuesday, said councilmembers Trayon White, Robert White, Zachary Parker, Brianne Nadeau and Janese Lewis-George are “blocking the will of the public and majority of council.”
7News spoke to three of the members she called out about the mayor’s pushback.
“I reject the rhetoric and the political games that are being played, and I’m wanting for us to get to the bottom of how do we stop the teen takeovers and the delinquent behavior we’ve been seeing,” Parker said.
“I stand by my belief that a curfew policy is a failed policy, kind of smoke and mirrors, and what we really needed is investments in our young people, so I’m pretty firm on that,” Nadeau said.
“We have to choose our tools and the time we use those tools. I’ve supported the curfew in the past, but I think with the current surge of more federal troops that have been impending, we’re putting our youth in even more danger by extending that work. I know the executive has put in an emergency executive order that will fill the gap. I hope that comes alongside extended hours, I’ve funded at DPR, extended weekends, and opening more safe spaces for youth here in the city. And that’s the solution that we do agree on,” Lewis-George said.
The mayor has not confirmed if she’ll issue another order, but it is on the table.
Whispers, mysteries still hang in air 50 years after Bolles’ murder
Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles died on June 13, 1976, 50 years ago. There are still mysteries surrounding his death from a car bombing.
A memorial designed to pay tribute to journalists who have died in pursuit of a story — including Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles, who had a bomb explode under his car 50 years ago — will soon have a home on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
The Fallen Journalists Memorial, set to open in June 2028, won’t include individual names of journalists. A rule says that unless Congress makes an exception, a memorial wall can only include a group whose last member died more more than a quarter century prior.
And the number of journalists who die in pursuit of truth continues to grow every year.
The foundation creating the memorial has featured journalists on its website. Included in the first round of those showcased is Bolles.
Bolles was a reporter with The Arizona Republic who investigated the mafia, land fraud and political corruption. He was killed in June 1976 by a bomb planted under his Datsun at a midtown Phoenix hotel, an incident that shocked the nation and shook the journalism community.
Barbara Cochran, president of the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation, said the aim was to remind people of the work done by journalists like Bolles.
“They go as eyewitnesses. They document,” she said. “They dig deep and come up with information that people don’t have time to do on their own.”
Bolles’ legacy was not just forged by his death, Cochran said, but the work his death inspired.
Scores of reporters from around the country descended on Phoenix to continue investigating political corruption as Bolles had.
That collective action sent a message.
“Even if you kill the journalist, you won’t kill the story,” Cochran said. “Don Bolles was really the symbol of that.”
The memorial will honor journalists who, like Bolles, were targeted for their reporting, Cochran said. It would also honor those who died in pursuit of a story.
That’s the story of at least five more Arizona journalists.
In 1985, Republic reporter Charles Thornton was killed in Afghanistan, which at the time was invaded by the Soviet Union. Thornton was a health reporter and took the trip to cover a clinic set up by Americans looking to save the lives of people injured in the war by bombs and chemical weapons.
Thornton knew the risks of traveling to a war zone. But said he thought it was worth it to bring the story of the injuries suffered by the Afghan rebels to Republic readers.
In 2007, two news helicopters collided while covering a police chase in midtown Phoenix. The helicopters, one from Channel 3, KTVK-TV, and one from Channel 15, KNXV-TV, each carried a cameraman and a pilot. All four men died when the helicopters crashed onto Steele Indian School Park.
Bolles will be the only Arizona reporter among the first to be honored as part of the new National Mall memorial project.
The physical memorial in Washington will be made up of glass rectangles.
On one end of the plaza, they will be laid in an abstract design. The glass rectangles could serve as benches on the plaza.
As visitors walk to the other end, the glass rectangles begin stacking. Visitors will then enter a circle formed by more glass rectangles.
On the ground in the center of the circle will be the words of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Reporter writes ‘the book I wanted to read’ on slain journalist Don Bolles
Axios reporter Jeremy Duda discusses “Murder in the Fourth State,” a book on the murder of The Arizona Republic’s Don Bolles, who died after a car bombing in 1976.
Arizona effort to create a Don Bolles memorial stalls at state Capitol
The DC memorial was introduced in Congress in 2019. It passed both the House and Senate unanimously in 2020 and was signed into law in December 2020 by President Donald Trump.
In contrast, a push to create a memorial for Bolles on the grounds of the state Capitol was proposed at the Arizona Legislature each of the past few years. But every attempt has stalled.
The bill passed the Arizona House unanimously this year. It was bottled up in the state Senate, as has happened since it was first introduced in 2023.
The Bolles memorial bill was assigned to the Senate Government Committee, chaired by state Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek. He did not give the bill a hearing, just as he had declined to do in the previous two sessions.
Hoffman, who has done contract work for the conservative groups Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action, has had an antagonistic relationship with the mainstream press and The Republic.
Rep. Selina Bliss, R-Prescott, the sponsor of the measure, said she is not sure exactly why Hoffman hasn’t given the bill a hearing. She expected it would easily pass if it made it to the state Senate floor.
“I can’t get into the minds of others,” she said, “why they choose to hear or don’t hear a bill.”
Bliss said she recognized the passion that Bolles had for journalism.
“It’s like a line of duty death, if you will,” she said. “People are killed in action doing what they do.”
Bliss said she was a teenager in Prescott at the time of the Bolles bombing. She remembers the experience as searing.
“It shook everyone so dramatically,” she said.
Bliss said she might expand the bill next session to include all fallen Arizona journalists, in hopes of getting it out of the logjam in the Senate.
Tim Eigo, president of the Arizona chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, has testified at the Arizona Legislature in support of the bill to allow a Bolles memorial.
Eigo said it was unfortunate that the bill was caught up in the swirl of current political feelings about journalism.
“I think people can get confused about whether dogged coverage is also advocacy. It’s not,” he said. “Some people get confused by that. So, they hesitate to honor a remarkable journalist like Don Bolles because there are other journalists they don’t like.”
Commemorating reporters who were targeted specifically because of their work like Bolles sends a signal, Eigo said.
“When we are honoring their accomplishments and commitment,” he said, “we are also defeating those who feel they can commit crimes against the press with impunity. … We are speaking truth to that cynical power.”
Shooting that killed journalists in Maryland inspired push for memorial
The idea for the DC memorial came after the June 2018 mass shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland. Five people were killed in the incident, four of them journalists.
The convicted gunman had filed a defamation suit against the newspaper after it reported on his legal troubles. He reportedly sent letters threatening to attack the newspaper’s journalists before he stormed the newsroom with a shotgun.
Retired U.S. Congressman David Dreier sat on the board of Tribune Publishing, the corporate owner of the sister newspapers, The Capital and the Maryland Gazette. Dreier, a Republican from California, worried that by 2019 the memory of the shooting was already fading.
He wanted a public memorial on the National Mall. The idea gained urgency, Cochran said, when the Newseum announced in 2019 that it was closing. That museum had an exhibition honoring slain journalists. Its centerpiece was the blown-out car from the 1976 Bolles bombing.
“There is nothing in Washington that talks about the sacrifices of journalists or that talks about the First Amendment, which is such a unique contribution to freedom and free expression for people everywhere,” Cochran said.
The location cited for it is a triangular plot of land about three blocks from the U.S. Capitol. The site, about a quarter-acre, was formed by the intersection of Independence Avenue and Maryland Avenue, which runs on a diagonal to the U.S. Capitol.
“The site has a clear view of the Capitol Dome,” Cochran said. “It’s a connection to journalism and a symbol of democracy. It reinforces the idea that journalism is a pilar of democracy.”
The memorial will not carry the names of any of the fallen journalists.
Cochran said a federal regulation governing memorials on the National Mall has a rule about those being honored in a group needing to have been deceased for more than 25 years.
“This is a memorial for which there would never be an end time,” she said.
Threats to press freedom are on the rise across the globe
The anniversary of Bolles’ death and the memorial underway come as journalists around the world face increased threats.
Reporters Without Borders, a global nonprofit advocating for independent journalism, has tracked press freedom around the world since 2002. The organization scores countries based on how free journalists are to report, evaluating the legal, political, economic and cultural constraints. It also looks at journalists’ safety working in the countries.
The organization’s 2026 World Press Freedom Index returned the lowest average score among all countries in 25 years.
The United States ranked as the 64th freest country in the world, dropping seven places from its ranking in 2025. The organization cited Trump’s continued attacks on journalists who cover him, as well as his administration’s pressure on networks and news outlets as part of the ranking.
Trump has made attacking the press and sowing distrust in traditional news media a hallmark of his agenda since his first run for higher office in 2015. He has threatened to ease libel laws to make it easier to sue news outlets.
Trump himself sued the CBS and ABC networks based on their journalists’ work. The networks settled despite legal experts saying the cases were weak.
U.S. presidents have long had an antogonistic relationship with the press.
George Washington, the first president of the United States, referred to journalists as “infamous scribblers.” Vice President Spiro Agnew called the press “nattering naybobs of negativism.” President Barack Obama used the Espionage Act to plug what he perceived were leaks from his administration to the press, according to the Cato Institute.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation, a nonprofit news advocacy group, has tracked more than 2,500 anti-press incidents in the United States since 2017, with nearly 1,400 assaults making up the majority. The tracker records non-physically violent threats, too, such as subpoenas and legal interventions, or chilling statements.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded 17 journalists and reporters killed in the United States since 1992.
In Arizona, 28 anti-press incidents were recorded since 2017, including arresting reporters and denying them access to government events.
The Arizona incidents over the past decade include an interview subject who pushed and shoved an Arizona Republic reporter before stealing her cell phone during the interview, the detention by Phoenix police of a Wall Street Journal reporter who was talking to customers outside a bank, and the detention of an Arizona Republic photographer who was covering protests outside the state Capitol in 2024.
Taylor Seely is a First Amendment Reporting Fellow at The Arizona Republic / azcentral.com. Do you have a story about the government infringing on your First Amendment rights? Reach her at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or by phone at 480-476-6116.
Reach Richard Ruelas at richard.ruelas@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-444-8473.
WASHINGTON – Authorities in Washington, D.C. are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man accused of stabbing a dog in Southeast, an incident that left the animal seriously injured but now recovering.
What we know:
The case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department after officials say they received an anonymous report that a man attacked a dog on the 2300 block of Nicholson Street SE around 9:30 Saturday morning.
Responding officers located the injured dog, identified as Edward, a pit bull who was later taken into care by the Brandywine Valley SPCA, according to police.
The suspect fled the scene before authorities arrived, and a search of the surrounding area did not turn up any leads.
What they’re saying:
At the shelter, officials say Edward is now in stable condition and continuing to recover.
“We’re very happy to report after receiving care from our medical team, at our facility, that he is in stable condition, and he’s doing well,” Erin Johnson with Brandywine Valley SPCA said.
She added that anyone with information about the incident should contact the Humane Rescue Alliance, which handles animal cruelty investigations in the District.
What you can do:
Officials say they are continuing to investigate what led to the attack and are urging anyone with relevant information or video to come forward. The goal, they say, is both to identify the suspect and to ensure accountability in the case.
Once fully recovered, Edward is expected to be placed for adoption through the shelter system.
The Source: Information from FOX 5 D.C. reporting.
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