Washington enjoyed its first Christmas snow in eight years, but the threat of a significant snowstorm could complicate plans for people trying to return home on Sunday. A trace amount of snow graced the region Saturday, the first time snow has fallen on Christmas day since 2002, when morning rain turned into snow and sleet later in the day, according to data from the National Weather Service.
“It was just a slight amount, just enough to make Christmas Christmasy,” said Andy Woodcock, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.
But those who delighted in the flurries that fell Christmas morning may be less pleased with a pending snowstorm that could dump more than six inches of snow on the region, according to a winter storm warning the weather service issued Saturday for the entire Metro region.
The snowfall will be “much more significant” on Sunday, Woodcock said.
He said the District is expected to see about six inches of the white stuff. The region of west of D.C. could see about four inches, while areas east of the District could get hit with up to nine inches.
That could cause more problems on the roads and at airports.
Hundreds of flights through Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, including those to and from the D.C. area, were canceled Saturday when much of the South was hit with a rare snowstorm – the same storm now headed towards Washington.
“Anytime there’s winter weather we can expect to see cancellations and delays,” said Courtney Mickalonis, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Travelers, she said, “really need to check with their airlines” when snow hits.
Forecasters had been warning of a potential storm over the past week, and transportation agencies said they were preparing.
The D.C. Department of transportation said on Friday that it expected to deploy 160 salt trucks Sunday morning in response to the snowfall.
And Metro, the airports authority and the Virginia Department of Transportation all said they had crews on standby in case severe weather hit.
The storm is slated to bring snow across the Northeast corridor, from D.C. up through Boston.
“They’re all going to be affected,” Woodcock said.
But the snow is expected to end by early Monday — which will just be windy, he said.
