A notable exception is the La NiГ±a winter of 1995-1996, which featured an astounding 46' of snowfall for DC, the 2nd highest on record for the city. La NiГ±a by itself may offer lower chances of a blizzard for example, but it does not guarantee it. No two winters are alike, and while the past can offer us a glimpse into the future, it is also very much a leap into the unknown. The atmosphere is constantly in a tug of war with itself for balance, that is why we have weather after all. However, at the end of the day seasonal weather forecasting is not an exact science, but more of a statistical analysis of climatology, that is to say, looking at what predominate weather features are present currently, what they led to in the past, and what they could mean for the future. Most La NiГ±a year run 'warm' by winter standards, and obviously that's not helpful for snow in our region. Cold can get 'trapped' over the highlands of the northwest, and thus even during La NiГ±a winters, these area can still pick up some heavier snowfalls, and be more susceptible to icing as well.ДЄll this means is that the odds are not in our favor. This can lead to snow to rain, mix, or even plain rain situations as they push into our region, even after very cold days sometimes. Storms that go up the AppalachianВ Range tend to pull in warm, southern air ahead of storm system that overtakes the lowlands rather quickly. This is one of the reason while the National Weather Service issues different advisories for those two zones. This is due in large part to a steady elevation climb, with upper Montgomery County about 500ft higher than the lower county. A county like Montgomery County can have totally different weather through the northwestern half of the county when compared to those who live in the southeastern half of the county just a handful of miles away. Our region is unique is just how much the land differs from the beaches and bay to the east, and the highlands and mountains to the west. You can read last year's winter outlook and review it for yourself here! We called for more snow than the previous season, but also below normal snowfall overall, as well as above normal temperatures, and no blizzards through the winter, and at the end of the day, that's exactly what we got. Still, despite the seemingly poor winter for snow lovers, the main points in the forecast were right on the money. The total for the season was 5.4' of snow, well below the average of 15.4' that DC sees in the average winter, and below our forecast range of 7-17'. At least 4 or 5 times last winter, storms were in the forecast 4-5 days out with models showing totals exceeding half a foot of snow in DC, but by winter's end our largest single snow event was only a little over 2' of snow. Even some of the best models in the world struggled with storm tracks in the extended range. Weather modeling really suffered with last year's winter systems. It featured several instances where snowfall mixed with sleet and greatly affected snowfall totals.

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