At last, we can say it: Winter is over in the D.C. area.
After a long and often harsh season — punctuated by persistent cold, stubborn snow and ice, and a late-season chill this week — the pattern ahead has shifted. Milder air is taking hold, and there are no meaningful signs of a return to sustained cold or accumulating snow.
That means we can officially declare the winter of 2025-2026 behind us.
We’ve made it a tradition to mark the onset of spring once the threat of prolonged cold and lasting snow has passed. The forecast now clearly favors warmer days, budding trees and a steady march toward spring — even if a few bumps remain along the way.
The forecast ahead is promising for flowers — and for fans of warmer weather.
Highs surge into the 60s on Friday and reach the 70s by Sunday. But a warning: Springlike weather doesn’t mean sustained warmth.
Next week, for example, daily highs bounce between the low 50s and mid-60s — a reminder that spring is a season of swings.
Still, there is little sign of any return to sustained wintry weather.
Reflecting on winter
If you’re ready for the shift to spring, you’re not alone. Meteorological winter, spanning December to February, was the coldest since 2002-2003. It was also the first time since the 2009-2010 season that temperatures in all three months — December, January and February — finished below normal.
- It was the coldest December since 2010.
- It was the coldest January since 2014.
- It was the coldest February since 2015.
Snowfall in D.C., as officially measured at Reagan National Airport, totaled 10.6 inches, about 3.1 inches below normal if no more falls. But persistent cold allowed snow and ice to linger for an unusually long time.
Few will forget the late-January “snowcrete” event, when hardened snow and ice lingered for days, followed by the longest stretch of freezing weather since 1989.
Remnants of that storm can still be found in some parking lots, and it may take until April for all traces to disappear.
Snow totals could have been significantly higher if not for two near-miss storms. One tracked south in late January, covering the Carolinas and southeast Virginia. Another in late February blasted the Mid-Atlantic coast and Northeast, while D.C. saw just 1 to 4 inches.
Overall, the Midwest Regional Climate Center classified the season as “severe” — a Level 4 out of 5 — on its Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index.
More than a decade of declaring winter over
We began the tradition of declaring winter over in 2014, using the following criteria:
- No signal for accumulating snow capable of lasting 12+ hours.
- No signal for cold lasting more than 48 hours (highs in the 40s or colder with freezing lows at Reagan airport).
This year’s March 19 declaration is close to the long-term average.
Here are the dates from past years:
- 2025: March 10
- 2024: March 18
- 2023: March 21
- 2022: March 14
- 2021: March 22
- 2020: March 9
- 2019: March 27
- 2018: April 10
- 2017: March 24
- 2016: March 7
- 2015: March 30
- 2014: March 28
We haven’t always gotten our spring declaration right; in 2014, for example, it snowed two days after our declaration.
Spring is a volatile season, and surprises can happen. Through mid-April, brief shots of cold air — and even a few wet snowflakes — can’t be ruled out.
But the bigger picture has clearly shifted. Winter has lost its grip, and spring is taking over.
The post It was a long, harsh winter in D.C. We can finally call it over. appeared first on Washington Post.
