Capital Weather (formerly Capital Weather Gang) has released its outlook for the upcoming winter publicly, calling for a warmer and wetter-than-normal season across the Washington region, but with below-average snowfall overall. This is the second major outlook released after ABC7’s last week.
For Montgomery County, Capital Weather is forecasting 8 to 16 inches of snow for the season (though their map shows 7-15 inches). The same range is predicted for Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Closer to Washington, D.C., predicted totals are lower, with 5 to 10 inches expected in the District, Alexandria, Arlington County, and Prince George’s County. Capital Weather is forecasting 5 to 8 inches at Reagan National Airport, 10 to 14 inches at Dulles International Airport, and 8 to 12 inches at BWI Marshall Airport.
The outlook is heavily influenced by what Capital Weather describes as an exceptionally strong El Niño. While that pattern could produce an active storm track and above-normal precipitation, forecasters expect temperatures to average roughly 3 degrees above normal for the winter. Rain and melted snow combined are projected to reach 125 to 150 percent of normal…