What is winter like in D.C. metro area (Washington: school district, university)

[terrence81]

The winters here are of course relative. Coming from the South this was definitely the coldest winter of my life. They said that there were people during the inauguration from warmer climates who really couldnt' handle it. They just got outside and turned right around. So it's relative. The northerners will say that winters here are mild and beautiful. I say they're disgustingly cold. So it's all relative.

I would say coming from upstate NY you'll do just fine and will enjoy not having to deal with as much snow. However, if you're looking for winters that don't involve coats and such then you need to head further south. There is still winter here just not as severe as points north.

[cpterp]

We have the worst of both worlds--hot summers and cold winters, and global warming is just aggravating the problem (it causes harsher winters as well as hot summers).

Generally, the weather isn't all that different from the other Mid-Atlantic towns--Philly, Balt, NYC, but if you're coming from Buffalo or Maine you'll love the winter, and if you're coming from the Carolinas or SoCal, or Florida you'll hate the winters. Single digits are commonplace in Jan. Just yesterday (May 19) there was an overnight frost warning with morning temperatures in the mid-30's for MD and DC. Some areas in the DC Metro exurbs such as Western MD (which is waay out in the mountains), see feet of snow into March.

[krock1dk]

DC winters = cold, snowy and wet. Watch out for those Noreasters.

[cyko]

cold, miserable, dry, long

basically its cold as ****....with no real snow.

[EastBay-NowDCarea]

Originally Posted by cyko

cold, miserable, dry, long

basically its cold as ****....with no real snow.

Coming from a mild area this short explanation from cyko is pretty accurate. When it gets cold it does feel pretty cold, but without much snow. I've ran across a few people from northern areas and they laugh when I complain about cold and snow.

[cpterp]

Originally Posted by EastBay-NowDCarea

Coming from a mild area this short explanation from cyko is pretty accurate. When it gets cold it does feel pretty cold, but without much snow. I've ran across a few people from northern areas and they laugh when I complain about cold and snow.

I don't know, we get at least one "big" snow shower a year. It's seems about the same as New York or Philly. But yes, if you're from Detroit or Chicago our "winter" is laughable.

[treebw]

I am moving to DC from Raleigh, NC and looked into the weather: DC is one degree warmer in the summer than Raleigh, and two or three degrees colder in the winter. This past winter when it snowed in DC it snowed in Raleigh...it was my first winter here and I was glued to the weather!

They do still get the seasons in DC also, so you wont have to miss it. Not sure how the summers differ in NY and DC...cant be terribly different, I wouldnt think.

[Hephaestion]

juniperbleu is right in his/her comments.
I have lived here for 10 years and some winters have felt VERY cold, but some have felt very mild. Two of those 10 winters have given us quite a bit of snow, two have given us almost no snow, and 6 of those winters gave us a handful of 3-to-6 inch snows. To a New Yorker it will seem pleasant in DC unless we have one of our once-every-five-years really cold winters. Summers can be brutally hot and humid, but summers here are short compared to summers down South, and pretty much every place in DC is air-conditioned. If you find an apt. that seems to be inexpensive, be sure to ask if it has air-conditioning. You won't want to live here without it. Summer heat runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day as a rule of thumb. Spring and Fall here are both pleasant and lovely.

[TheseGoTo11]

I moved to DC from Boston, and quite frankly, winters here are a joke. Got my nephew a sled this year, and we were able to use it once. Had we arrived at the hill two hours later we would have been SOL because the snow was melting quickly.

When I first moved here, we had a 2 inch snowstorm and I had to laugh at the panicky drivers and newscasters. Wasn't sure if they were serious.


If you want palm trees, and never want to see a flake of snow, then this isn't the place. But you get a lot of days with January snowstorms in NYC and Boston where it'll be rainy and 45 here. We also have a fair number of nice days in the low 60s starting in late Feb/early March when it's still icy further north.

[cat1116]

Originally from Upstate NY myself but it has been years and of course, my blood must have thinned out. When compared to some of my fellow commuters who are bundled up as if they're in Fargo, ND, and I've just got on a light weight coat and not even half zippered up, and I'm still warm,... I guess; then, you could say it's all relative.
Lived 3 years in Southeastern PA. Joined the military. Relocated to: FL, TX, VA, NC, [Italy], MD, and the Eastern Panhandle of WV. As some of the other writers have mentioned, the Greater Metropolitan DC area have seen their share of a few bad snow storms. I can deal with the snow. It's the ice that I absolutely hate!!! We've had those too. I've literally had to use a pick shovel on the ice to form a pathway in our yard so that my dogs could relieve themselves.
The southern Virginia, North Carolina border, I recall one Fall day where it seemed like 60's going into work but when it was time to go home [12 hrs later], there was a foot of snow on the ground and my car wouldn't start.
Seen snow in Pensacola, Florida too. Not alot but seemed more a damp cold, like one year of our stay in Italy. From the house that we stayed in, I could see it raining to my left and snowing to my right. The homes there are built for the hot weather and so the months of Jan/Feb, are cold, rainy ones. A bone chilling damp and no fireplaces : ( [at least not where we lived].