The season’s first snowfall gently coated the D.C. region Friday, slicking roads, causing scattered accidents and prompting some school delays and closures. The area largely weathered the light event, which produced only a coating to a couple of inches for most.
The minor storm, whose center passed well south of the metro region, brought the earliest first measurable snow to D.C. since 1.4 inches fell on Nov. 15, 2018. At Reagan National Airport, D.C.’s official observing site, 1.1 inches fell. It marks the first time since December 2017 that at least an inch of snow has fallen during the month. D.C.’s average first inch of snow doesn’t occur until December 22.
Since 2000, Dec. 5 has been a frequent date for early-season snows. Between 2002 and 2009, snow fell in the D.C. area five times on that date. Considering snow isn’t particularly common on any December day in D.C., so many instances is a strange coincidence.
The snow fell amid an unusually cold weather pattern, which began on Thanksgiving and may not relent for much of December — opening the possibility for more snow chances in the weeks ahead.
How much fell
Friday’s amounts were mostly between 1 and 2 inches across the region, but dipped to a coating to 1 inch in northern Maryland.
The highest totals, around 2 inches, occurred in Southern Maryland and around Fredericksburg in north central Virginia. The National Weather Service received one report of 3 inches in Stafford, Virginia.
Here are some select totals:
- Stafford, Virginia: 3 inches
- Fredericksburg and Fairfax in Virginia and California and Waldorf in Maryland: 2 inches
- Catholic University in D.C. and Chesapeake Beach, Maryland: 1.8 inches
- Rosslyn, Virginia, and American University Park in D.C.: 1.7 inches
- Crofton and Gaithersburg in Maryland: 1.5 inches
- Damascus, Maryland: 1.2 inches
- Reagan National and Dulles International airports: 1.1 inches
- Laurel, Maryland: 1.0 inches
- Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport: 0.8 inches
- Frederick, Maryland: 0.2 inches
School decisions cause confusion
Even with the light snowfall, the storm’s early-morning arrival created enough uncertainty to complicate school operations. Some districts, including Loudoun and Prince George’s counties, initially announced delays but later decided to close schools entirely. Prince George’s announced its change shortly before 8 a.m. Typically, the school system aims to make a decision before 5:30 a.m.
School system officials apologized for the late announcement in a statement about the closure. They added that reports of untreated secondary roads and transportation staff members unable to safely reach their posts caused them to change their decision.
“Making winter weather calls is inherently tricky, especially given the size and varied conditions across the county,” officials said in a statement. “When assessments revealed that conditions could be unsafe for student and staff travel in any part of our district, we made the immediate, decisive call to close schools because doing the right thing for safety is our nonnegotiable priority.
In nearby Montgomery County, school system officials decided to keep schools open. They said in an announcement they didn’t expect the weather to impact any operations because the snow was expected to have “minimal accumulation” on untreated roads. On social media, some families voiced that they were upset by the decision, given Superintendent Thomas Taylor delayed opening schools for two hours on Tuesday when there was only a cold rain.
How was the forecast?
This wasn’t a snow event forecasters tracked for days. It was a subtle, weak system that only really came into focus on Tuesday and Wednesday. Because the storm center was passing well south of the Mid-Atlantic, it was tricky to judge how far north the precipitation would reach. By Wednesday, it became clear the area could be brushed by some snow.
Capital Weather Gang issued its first detailed briefing Thursday morning. Even with the short lead time, the forecast was close to reality: a coating to a couple inches across the region, with the highest amounts south of the Beltway.
On Thursday night, it nudged predicted amounts upward for downtown Washington and the close-in southern suburbs — from a dusting to an inch up to 1 to 2 inches — once it became clear the steadier snow would push a bit farther north. Some 1-inch-plus totals even reached parts of D.C.’s northern suburbs, which was a little more than forecast.
But overall, its calls on the timing, accumulation, and impacts were close to on the mark.
Reader photos and video
Capital Weather Gang readers were out and about in the snow Friday morning and captured pretty scenes of the season’s first measurable flakes. Find a selection from social media below:
#Snow falling on Friday morning and whitening the ground near the Capitol tree in #DC! @capitalweather @uscapitol pic.twitter.com/zLdNrwExdB
— Jeanne Stuart McVey (@RiverGirl707) December 5, 2025
Snowing steadily now in Dumfries, VA @capitalweather #snowfall pic.twitter.com/BbgjGcOm6K
— Paul Fucito (@pfucito) December 5, 2025
@capitalweather Stickage on secondary roads with big flakes flying in Glen Burnie, MD. pic.twitter.com/XnA0TXOrRc
— TIMOTHY BUTZ (@timbutz70) December 5, 2025
Good morning Reston VA 12/5/25 7:45 am@MyRadarWX @weatherchannel @WeatherNation @wxchanneldesk @accuweather @FOXWeatherDesk @capitalweather @NWS_BaltWash @RestonOnline #lakelife #beautiful #beauty #snow pic.twitter.com/uXXvXPx8gK
— Laura Larson (@beachobxgirl) December 5, 2025
The pumpkins are looking “weathered,” in Rockville this morning.@capitalweather @TonyPannWBAL @MikeTFox5 pic.twitter.com/GLvpQCMnz3
— Josh Lorenzo (@justjoshingya77) December 5, 2025
Rock Creek in the fresh snow@capitalweather pic.twitter.com/IO6s70tX9U
— Eric Hansen (@eshansen_2) December 5, 2025
Pretty morning in Hill East @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/rGkVhv7iX9
— Jim Havard (@JimHavard) December 5, 2025
First snow of the season in Washington DC
pic.twitter.com/Pcrow0kx7m
— C on the scene (@Conthescene) December 5, 2025
Ian Livingston contributed to this report.
The post D.C. sees first snow of the season. Here’s how much fell. appeared first on Washington Post.
