Which places in the DC region got the most snow?

How snow and sleet are measured during snowstorms

The transition from snow to sleet began earlier than expected Sunday in D.C., but the entire area still saw significant snow accumulation, ranging from 4.5 inches to nearly 9 inches.

While the snowfall is pretty much over, sleet continues to accumulate Sunday afternoon on top of the snow that’s already on the ground.

So was your neighborhood in a hot spot? Here are the latest snow total measurements taken by National Weather Service employees:

Virginia

Leesburg, 6.5 inches as of 11 a.m.
Ashburn, 6.1 inches as of 9:15 a.m.
Herndon, 6 inches as of 11 a.m.

Maryland

BWI Marshall Airport, 6 inches as of 9 a.m.
Bloomfield, 6.5 inches as of 9:50 a.m.
Adamstown, 6 inches as of 9 a.m.
Columbia, 6.7 inches as of 9:21 a.m.
Winchester, 6 inches as of 10:30 a.m.

WTOP’s Dave Dildine explained how the weather service measures snowfall totals.

“Official NWS snowfall measurements are taken every six hours at certified observation sites. The snow totals for any day or storm are the sums of those frequent observations. In this way, snow totals differ from snow depth,” Dildine said.

Snow gauge stuck in snow that reads 5 inches of accumulation — 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)

The weather service also shares totals from trained spotters, who measured 5 inches in both Adams Morgan and Brentwood in D.C. at around 10 a.m.

Trained spotters measured the most snow in Simpsonville in Howard County, Maryland, reporting 8.5 inches there at around 11 a.m. Other notable measurements include readings of 7.5 inches in Savage, Maryland, at 10:15 a.m., 7 inches in Wheaton at 9:30 a.m. and 7 inches in Brunswick at around 10:15 a.m.

That’s about as high as totals will get Sunday, as the afternoon brought to D.C. the rare instance of prolonged sleet. Up to two inches of accumulating sleet is possible, but the heavy ice pellets will likely compact the snow on the ground, WTOP Meteorologist Matt Ritter said.

Dildine added that while sleet is fairly common, extended periods of it are rare. The most noteworthy sleet storm for the D.C. area, Dildine said, happened Valentine’s Day in 2007. By nightfall, between 2 and 4 inches of sleet had accumulated across parts of the region.

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