1987: Early-Season November Snow Storm Crippled D.C.

November can bring wild swings in the weather with toasty weather followed by bitterly cold temperatures. Nobody was expecting a colossal snowstorm to wreak havoc in the nation`s capital though one mid-November day 29 years ago.

It seemed an unlikely scenario, with unseasonably warm temperatures in the 60s and 70s on the days leading up to Veterans Day 1987. What was looming, however, was a developing low pressure center in the Lower Mississippi Valley that spread light rain across the District the evening before Veterans Day. 

The system moved into the Carolinas on November 10th, and then quickly transitioned off the Mid-Atlantic Coast overnight into Veterans Day. What caught forecasters off guard was the cold air that funneled in before the moisture departed.

Rain transitioned to snow on November 11th and fell heavily during the day. By the time it was over, 11.5 inches had covered Washington`s National Airport.

This amount broke many records in the Nation`s Capital including:
• Greatest November storm total
• Greatest 24-hour November snowfall
• Greatest amount of snow for November 11th
• Without even a trace of snow for the rest of the month, that single Veterans Day storm set the greatest monthly November snow total.

Nearby Prince George`s County, Md., was the hardest hit with 13 inches of snow.  Thunderstorms producing snow were even reported in nearby Fredericksburg, Va. Farther north, a record 6.0 inches blasted Baltimore, setting the record for the most snow on November 11.

Snowfall amounts dropped off rapidly north and west of Washington with only 3 to 4 inches measured in central and northern Montgomery County.

The Veterans Day storm almost produced Washington`s average yearly snowfall, which is 15.4 inches. D.C.`s National Airport averages only one-half inch in November.

Meanwhile, Baltimore averages just under one-half inch in November with an average seasonal total of 20.1 inches.