PHOTOS: Snow, ice storm turns DC region into winter wonderland

People participate in a snowball fight in Meridian Hill Park in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2026. A massive winter storm on January 24 dumped snow and freezing rain from New Mexico to North Carolina as it swept across the United States towards the northeast, threatening tens of millions of Americans with blackouts, transportation chaos and bone-chilling cold. After battering the country’s southwest and central areas, the storm system began to hit the heavily populated mid-Atlantic and northeastern states as a frigid air mass settled in across the nation. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

People participate in a snowball fight in Meridian Hill Park in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2026. A massive winter storm on January 24 dumped snow and freezing rain from New Mexico to North Carolina as it swept across the United States towards the northeast, threatening tens of millions of Americans with blackouts, transportation chaos and bone-chilling cold. After battering the country’s southwest and central areas, the storm system began to hit the heavily populated mid-Atlantic and northeastern states as a frigid air mass settled in across the nation. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

A man walks along a path as snow falls in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2026. A massive winter storm on January 24 dumped snow and freezing rain from New Mexico to North Carolina as it swept across the United States towards the northeast, threatening tens of millions of Americans with blackouts, transportation chaos and bone-chilling cold. After battering the country’s southwest and central areas, the storm system began to hit the heavily populated mid-Atlantic and northeastern states as a frigid air mass settled in across the nation. (Photo by Amid FARAHI / AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 25: Children play in the snow near the US Capitol on January 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. A massive winter storm is expected to bring frigid temperatures, ice, and snow to millions of Americans across the nation. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

A view of a snow covered National Mall in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2026. A massive winter storm on January 24 dumped snow and freezing rain from New Mexico to North Carolina as it swept across the United States towards the northeast, threatening tens of millions of Americans with blackouts, transportation chaos and bone-chilling cold. After battering the country’s southwest and central areas, the storm system began to hit the heavily populated mid-Atlantic and northeastern states as a frigid air mass settled in across the nation. (Photo by Amid FARAHI / AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 25: An Architect of the Capitol worker clears snow from the West front of the U.S. Capitol on January, 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. A massive winter storm is bringing frigid temperatures, ice, and snow to nearly 200 million Americans from Texas to New England.. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

A young boy sits in a fort built out of snow in the D.C. area on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (WTOP/Abigail Constantino)

WTOP’s Dave Dildine measured nearly 5 inches of snow in Chevy Chase just before 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

A little girl builds a structure in the snow in Germantown, Maryland, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (WTOP/Linh Bui)

A plow clears a parking lot in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)

A car spins out in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2025. (WTOP/Steve Dresner)

A couple walks in the snow in Arlington, Virginia, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (WTOP/Sandy Kozel)

Skye frolics in the snow in Bowie, Maryland, (WTOP/Anne Kramer)

Birds land on a balcony in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. (WTOP/Dan Ronan)

Emmett plays in the snow in a Chinatown park in the District. (WTOP/Bill McFarland)

A worker clears a sidewalk in Friendship Heights, Maryland, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (WTOP/Giang Nguyen)

A Metrobus travels through Chevy Chase, Maryland, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (WTOP/Julia Ziegler)

A small plow clears the area in front of a story in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (WTOP/Julia Ziegler)