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Tag: dc winter

  • ‘In Phil we trust’: DC’s weather forecasting rodent makes Groundhog Day prediction – WTOP News

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    This Groundhog Day, D.C.’s very own weather forecasting groundhog made a prediction amid a frozen city filled and chilly residents hoping for a little warmth.

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    What Potomac Phil, DC’s weather rodent, forecasted on Groundhog Day

    This Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter. Meanwhile in D.C.’s Dupont Circle, the city’s own weather forecasting groundhog made a prediction amid a frozen city filled with “snowcrete” and chilly residents hoping for a little warmth.

    Some bad news came from the lifeless, taxidermic rodent Potomac Phil early Monday morning.

    “I’ve been instructed which scroll to read for Potomac Phil’s weather and political predictions. Potomac Phil saw his shadow, so six more weeks of winter and six more months of political gridlock,” said Will Stephens, a board member of the Dupont Festival who helped organize the polka jam filled event.

    Even though it was not the news everyone was hoping to hear, dozens stood by and shivered to hear what the little stuffed mammal had to say.

    “I’m not going to lie, kind of a bummer this year,” Sam Edelstein told WTOP. “Kind of bummed about six more weeks of winter, but in Phil we trust, and I believe him, with all this snow.”

    This was his fourth time coming to the early February celebration.

    “It’s so fun,” he said. “There’s so many things going on in the world and in D.C., and this is just a reminder the importance of community and tradition and it’s just a really special day to be out here.”

    Potomac Phil predicted six more weeks of winter and six more months of political gridlock on Feb. 2, 2026.
    (WTOP/Luke Lukert)

    WTOP/Luke Lukert

    crowd gathers to hear potomac phil's weather prediction in dupont circle
    Even though it was not the news everyone was hoping to hear, dozens stood by and shivered to hear what the little stuffed mammal had to say.
    (WTOP/Luke Lukert)

    WTOP/Luke Lukert

    Potomac Phil predicted six more weeks of winter and six more months of political gridlock on Feb. 2, 2026.
    crowd gathers to hear potomac phil's weather prediction in dupont circle

    The forecast came more than a week after a winter storm brought snow and sleet to the D.C. area — much of which is sticking around due to lingering frigid temperatures.

    “I think everyone was showing up because they were hoping that this, what are we calling it, ‘snowcrete,’ would melt soon, but Potomac Phil has dashed our hopes and dreams,” Libby Norwood said.

    Some even ran for distance, with the route resembling the shape of the event’s signature top hat, hoping it would be good mojo.

    “We ran a 5K and then we came out to see Potomac Phil,” Emma Israel said. “I was hoping for more spring, but here we are.”

    Afterward the crowd sipped coffee and grabbed selfies with the famous stuffed groundhog.

    “I predicted that this is going to be one of our smaller crowds, given the weather and a Monday morning, but it was an amazing crowd,” Stephens said. “I think people just, especially these days, want some time to get together and maybe be silly and get distracted for a few minutes before the workweek starts.”

    For the 15th year in a row, Potomac Phil predicted another six months of political gridlock.

    “Potomac Phil is getting a little bit bitter, it sounds like, in his old age,” Norwood said.

    Potomac Phil predicted six more weeks of winter and six more months of political gridlock on Feb. 2, 2026.
    Potomac Phil predicted six more weeks of winter and six more months of political gridlock on Feb. 2, 2026.
    (WTOP/Luke Lukert)

    WTOP/Luke Lukert

    crowd gathers to hear potomac phil's weather prediction in dupont circle
    Even though it was not the news everyone was hoping to hear, dozens stood by and shivered to hear what the little stuffed mammal had to say.
    (WTOP/Luke Lukert)

    WTOP/Luke Lukert

    Potomac Phil predicted six more weeks of winter and six more months of political gridlock on Feb. 2, 2026.
    crowd gathers to hear potomac phil's weather prediction in dupont circle

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Luke Lukert

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  • This winter in the DC region may be warmer than normal, NOAA says – WTOP News

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    The predictions for this winter’s weather from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are out, and for the D.C. region, expect warmer weather.

    The predictions for this winter’s weather from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are out; and for the Mid-Atlantic region, you can expect “a slight lean” toward warmer-than-normal weather.

    But Andrew Ellis, professor of meteorology and climate science at Virginia Tech, said there’s only a “40% probability of warmer-than-normal” temperatures for December, January and February.

    Ellis told WTOP the “normal” temperatures during the winter in the region range from a low in the 20s and a high in the 40s.

    As for precipitation, Ellis said the totals are likely to fall within the normal range. Pinning down how much snowfall the region could see is trickier, he said.

    “In the Mid-Atlantic, our snowfall is usually predicated on coastal storms … those are hard to predict,” he said.

    Because one or two of those coastal storms “can really move the needle on our seasonal snowfall total, so it’s really hard to say what the winter will be like on the whole,” he added.

    Winter in D.C. often comes with closures tied more to slick driving conditions than outsized snowfalls, something that can lead to school closures and late openings that mystify residents who come from regions of the country that measure seasonal snowfall in feet, not inches.

    “The Mid-Atlantic, we’re poster children for the mixed bag of winter precipitation,” Ellis said. “We don’t get the pure cold air combined with storms because of the influence of the Atlantic Ocean. So when we do have cold air in place, then the secondary ingredient of getting a coastal storm — typically for us — means it drags in warm, moist air from over the Atlantic Ocean and that is very much the recipe for mixed precipitation of sleet and freezing rain.”

    Part of what’s influencing the projected winter weather pattern is the arrival of La Niña, which is the cooling of the Pacific Ocean waters.

    “For us in the United States, a pretty standard La Niña forecast is warmer and drier across the Southern tier and extending up the East Coast into the Mid-Atlantic region,” Ellis said. “That’s sort of where this winter’s forecast is born.”

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Kate Ryan

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  • Hoping for a lot of snow in the DC area this winter? What NOAA forecasters say we can expect – WTOP News

    Hoping for a lot of snow in the DC area this winter? What NOAA forecasters say we can expect – WTOP News

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    The D.C. area will probably not be seeing a lot of snow this winter, according to NOAA.

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    Hoping for a lot of snow in the DC area this winter?

    Anyone who steps outside in the morning can tell that fall is in full swing and winter is on the way. While the D.C. area saw some snowstorms last year, there are no promises it’ll happen again this year.

    Forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are blaming it all on La Nina, which sees stronger than normal trade winds blowing warmer water on the surface of the ocean, west toward Asia. That leaves a mass of colder than usual water in the central Pacific Ocean, pushing the jet stream further to the north. For us, that usually means less snow.

    “For the mid-Atlantic region, or greater D.C. area, we are favoring above normal temperatures along the Eastern Seaboard, including the D.C. metro area,” said Jon Gottschalck, senior forecaster with NOAA.

    When La Nina pushes the jet stream to the north, it means most of our weather comes directly from the west, and so higher amounts of precipitation are in the forecast for the more mountainous parts of the region west of D.C. and beyond into the Ohio Valley.

    “One thing that’s often the case with La Nina … is that, typically, with the warmer conditions and a more storm track to the west, there typically is less snowfall in the mid-Atlantic region,” said Gottschalck.

    He’s predicting a lot of snow around the Great Lakes and the Northern Plains of the U.S. The lakes effect snow in the earlier parts of the winter, when they are warmer and can supply a lot of moisture. Colder spells later in the winter keep the snow chances going.

    Normally, the really big snowstorms that hit the D.C. region come when the jet stream dips to the south and pulls up moisture from the ocean into the area. Last year, when the D.C. area finally got snow again, the Pacific Ocean was seeing a strong El Niño, which is the opposite of La Nina.

    The current predictions also tend to not favor much in the way of the so-called “Polar Vortex” around here — those long stretches of dangerously cold weather when air masses from Canada settle over us.

    If you’re a snow lover disappointed by all this, it should also be noted that NOAA expects this winter’s La Nina to be on the weaker side of things, so forecasters also aren’t nearly as certain things will play out this way.

    “The winter outlook is probabilistic in nature,” noted Gottschalck. “However, the nature of a probabilistic forecast means that other outcomes are always possible. Though they are less likely. In fact, for our probabilities to be consistent with the nature of this outlook, that less likely outcome must occur from time to time.”

    The odds are also evenly split between a wetter than normal winter, a normal winter or a dryer than usual winter for the D.C. region — so a snowstorm is still a possibility, even if it’s less likely to occur.

    “There is a dry signal for less snowfall in that region,” Gottschalck said. “But there’s more uncertainty given the weaker La Nina. So generally warmer, kind of uncertain with precipitation, potentially less snowfall this year for the D.C. area.”

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    John Domen

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