Weather map of the 1922 blizzard.
Infrared image of the 2010 blizzard.
The most frequent comparison is obviously the infamous Knickerbocker Storm of 1922. That storm -- named for the roof collapse of the Knickerbocker Theatre which killed 98 and injured 133 -- churned out at least 20 inches of powder across a 22,400 square mile radius in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States beginning on January 27, 1922. That storm produced an incredible amount of snow -- reportedly measuring a record 33 inches in Rock Creek Park -- in a very short period of time and mostly overnight, much like the current one. But there are differences -- temperatures between January 24 and 28 in 1922 didn't once reach above freezing, while we've experienced some temperatures in the 40s over the past few days.
Our own Amanda Mattos took a look back at the Knickerbocker Storm on the 87th anniversary of the roof collapse in 2009 -- while we may match the same levels of snowfall, one can only hope the carnage caused in 1922 is never replicated.
But this storm also is reminiscent of the Blizzard of '96, when the District -- along with seemingly every city on the Eastern seaboard -- was hammered. 1996's storm was punctuated by frigid blasts of wind along with anywhere from 18 to 24 inches of the white stuff, which sounds a lot like what's going on outside our window. The Presidents' Day snowstorm of 2003 also shares some similarities, though final figures from this weekend have already eclipsed the 12-18 inches we got nearly seven years ago.
In any case: no matter how much 2010's blizzard eventually drops on D.C., you can always glance at Washington's average snowfall figure for February and have a hearty laugh.
D.C. only got 12-18 inches in 2003? BWI got 28 inches in that storm. That's a big differential.
i was in state college, PA, for that storm, and we got about 15-16 inches that day. friends who lived in baltimore at that time still talk about it, though.
It was Baltimore's historic #1. The 1922 storm was #3, not including today.
I trudged through 2 feet around Dupont Circle in '03. Official DC measurements are taken at National, which always underestimates snow amounts in DC proper, as opposed to Virginia.
Totally love the vintage weather map!
The President's Day storm of 1979 was worse than this one. It's the biggest ever recorded at National Airport.