The Booker T. Washington High School Band from Norfolk, Va., marches in the snow in the annual MLK Peace Walk and Parade in Southeast D.C. Snow was expected to intensify Monday evening and yield at least a couple inches of snow around the D.C. region.

Tyrone Turner / DCist/WAMU

Snow lovers are finally able to rejoice.

It’s been two long years since much of the D.C. area has last had any measurable snow (last night’s dusting notwithstanding). But two to three inches of the white, fluffy stuff are predicted to fall in the region starting Monday late afternoon and continuing into Tuesday morning.

The last time a majority of the D.C. region had even an inch of snow was almost two years ago to the date: January 16, 2022. Last season, D.C. only received about .4 inches of snow throughout the season, according to the National Weather Service. It was the least amount of snow the city had seen in 25 years. The region has not seen an inch of snow in now nearly 700 days, a drought that’s being seen across much of the Mid-Atlantic.

But that began changing Monday, when it snowed lightly for most of the day and was expected to pick up into steadier snowfall in the evening.

The Capital Weather Gang is estimating one to four inches of snow should accumulate across most of the region by early Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service is predicting two to three inches of snow. Those totals could be updated later.

Transportation departments across the region are monitoring the situation and have pre-treated roads. The National Park Service has announced that George Washington Parkway from the Capital Beltway to Spout Run — which is currently undergoing a major construction project — will be closed due to the forecasted winter weather “until further notice.”

All school systems are closed today for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but it’s expected that many will be on a delayed opening or close entirely due to tonight’s snow.

Sunday night and into Monday morning, a majority of the region did get a bit of a pre-show coating. While it wasn’t much more than a dusting in most places, the snow stuck due to the frigid temperatures and gave many of today’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day events some winter weather to contend with. The conditions also led the National Zoo to close on the holiday.

Unfortunately, residents will be deprived of one of the best things about a D.C. snow day. The National Zoo’s pandas were sent back to China in November, leaving us with only fond memories of the city’s former unofficial mascots rolling around in the snow.

Filed Under: closures, cold weather, d.c., Maryland, Northern Virginia, snow, winter,