WASHINGTON – The D.C. area will start 2025 with two chances of winter weather as a cold front moves in over New Year’s Eve and a second storm system moves into the area the first weekend of the year.

A look back at 2024

It started with a January that gave us about 8 inches of snow over the course of about five days, but then followed the third warmest spring on record for the city. This was followed by the third warmest summer on record for our region and then the second warmest fall on record. This was tied to the longest dry spell in D.C. history, with 38 consecutive days without rain in D.C. between early October and mid-November.

All in all, despite a colder than normal December to end the year, 2024 is still expected to go down in the books as the warmest year in DC history overall.

READ MORE: DC Snowfall: Several inches possible Sunday through Monday

Outlook for 2025

So what do we have to look forward to as we enter 2025?

Well, one thing you’ll notice with many weather experts is that guarantees are difficult to come by. There are a lot Chance for that or Chance for that. So when a weather expert offers a guarantee, you can bet they’re pretty sure about what they’re predicting.

The guarantee I can give is that it will be cold (at least) in the first half of January and that there will probably be a cold snap strong cold later next week.

This is where the guarantees end, at least for now. But when you hear about a prolonged cold event in January, one question naturally has to come to mind: Will there be snow?

While we can’t make any guarantees about snowfall, what we can tell you is that the DC area appears to be experiencing some of the better snowfall weather in recent years.

December 31, 2024 – January 1, 2025

The first period we are observing is actually just around the corner: New Year’s Eve!

As we prepare for 2025, a weak storm will move toward our northwest. For the immediate DC area, this storm is unlikely to sustain more than a few showers as temperatures will be too mild. It could bring several inches of snowfall to our mountainous areas to the west as well as the Great Lakes and interior Northeast.

This storm will usher in the brief wave of mild weather we ended December with, bringing colder temperatures through the first day of the new year.

5th-6th January 2025

The second system we are observing in this active pattern will make landfall in the Pacific Northwest sometime on Friday, January 3, and push eastward toward our region on January 5-6. This storm is a tricky storm. We will be in a cold pattern early, but the initial cold air will not be as strong as that which will arrive later next week. The pattern also suggests the storm would be more likely to track northwest of the D.C. region and dissect the Appalachian Mountains.

While these typically favor rain, there will be a cold air mass in place. So depending on the timing of the system, this suggests that this second mass could be more of a mixed bag of precipitation, perhaps transitioning from snow to rain. or some sort of wintry mix threat. However, if the cold pushes in a little more than forecast and blocking patterns establish themselves a little quicker than expected, this wave could creep south and make us a stronger snowmaker than expected.

This is certainly a time we will be watching closely and working out the details later this week.

7th-11th January 2025

Regardless of which path the second storm ultimately takes, even colder air will reach the Mid-Atlantic region beyond. This could lay the foundation for the third wave, which early models suggest could hit us sometime between January 7th and 11th.

As the colder air settles further south and there is strong model support for aligning Canadian and Arctic atmospheric blocking patterns in a way that traps it there, a third system could develop near the Gulf of Mexico and move north along the East Coast. If all of this were to happen, this third wave would be the storm most likely to bring us heavier snowfall.

Now, of course, we’re making predictions for something about a week and a half away, but this article wouldn’t mention it if there wasn’t strong ensemble support for the possibility of a storm over that time frame.

It’s a time worth watching, and one that could end up being our best chance for meaningful winter weather this entire winter. We will continue to keep you updated on this period as models get a better idea of ​​what this period could bring over the next week or so.

What is a cross-polar current?

Behind this third wave, it is quite possible that the coldest air of the entire winter season will reach the eastern half of the country. There is strong model support for what we call cross-polar flow Here air is transported from Siberia across the polar region to the neighboring countries. The worst cold seems most likely between January 10th and 14th. A lingering cold is also likely beyond this period, possibly during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend and Inauguration Day.

The FOX 5 weather team will continue to closely monitor these threats as we enter the new year. Download FOX Local to get a live update from the FOX 5 Weather Team on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and receive live weather alerts throughout the winter. Here’s how.

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