Photo by Chris Militzer/Miliman12 Photography
Alexandria City Hall in the snow.
It's time for those winter jackets and hats to come out of storage.
It is looking like this winter might have more snowy precipitation than last year, but that isn’t saying much — last winter was mild and virtually snowless.
Early predictions from the Old Farmer’s Almanac and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predict a mild early winter. Both the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang and The Weather Channel are calling for warmer temperatures and below average snowfall, again, this year.
While this trend is not promising for snow lovers, predictions for later this winter are pointing towards a good possibility of seeing at least some snow. Predictions from meteorologists range from 4 inches to 20 inches of snow during this winter.
Recent winters have been milder than historic averages. Doug Kammerer of NBC News4 reported that of the last 20 winters, 13 of them have seen less snow than the average because of climate change and warmer temperatures. Kammerer is forecasting that snow will come in a few small storms.
However, The New Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a storm the second week of February that could bring significant snow to the area (up to 1 or 2 feet). The Washington Post is predicting that the end of January and February could be stormy and colder.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac is calling for the area to receive “sheets of sleet.”
Long-term predictions are tricky, and all the meteorologists interviewed by the Washington Post last year about their snowfall predictions were wrong: All of them predicted more snow than average.
The Capital Weather Gang reports that meteorologists’ ability to forecast a season have come a long way, however they themselves average their prediction grade to be around a C+ or B-.
