The predicted Snowquester didn't happen. The crazy, destructive derecho storm did. Before that, Washington was crippled by Snowmageddon and in consecutive summers, punished by relentless, record-shattering heat.
What’s driving the recent onslaught of extreme Washington weather? Why has the weather become so volatile—and at times, unpredictable? Is climate change playing a role? What other factors are in the meteorological mix?
Get an in-depth, multimedia tour of recent local weather events—featuring the sights and the science—from two members of the Washington Post's popular Capital Weather Gang blog, Jason Samenow and Kevin Ambrose.
Samenow, the blog’s chief meteorologist and the Post’s weather editor, holds degrees in environmental science and atmospheric science and has worked as a climate change analyst for the federal government, monitoring, analyzing, and communicating the science of climate change.
Ambrose is the author of Washington Weather, Blizzards and Snowstorms of Washington, D.C., and Great Blizzards of New York City. He is also a professional photographer and avid storm chaser, specializing in capturing the region’s snowstorms, cherry blossoms, sunrises, sunsets, storms, and lightning.
Other Connections
January 28 is the anniversary of Washington’s biggest—and most tragic—snowfall. Among Kevin Ambrose’s books is The Knickerbocker Storm (Arcadia), which reviews the events and aftermath of this 1922 blizzard. He’ll look back at this historic storm during the program. See the powerful photos that Ambrose finds most evocative of the disaster and learn about how he came to write its history.
