The cold, slushy deluge that befell Washington yesterday was neither picturesque nor the best for making snowballs, but the four inches of snow that fell on much of the region in the early morning may have a place among the region's wintry records.
The storm boosted December's snowfall total above 10 inches -- about five times the norm for the month -- delivering another early blast of winter that had many Washingtonians preparing, however gloomily, for a season of meteorological tribulations.
"If winter starts out this bad, the end is going to be worse, much worse," said DeShawn Love, 29, of Northeast Washington, smoking a cigarette outside yesterday as the rain came down. "I've seen a lot of winters, and that's the way it is."
Public schools in Alexandria, Prince William County and Stafford County announced that they would open two hours late today.
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Last night, a female was killed after the car in which she was riding skidded from an eastbound lane to a westbound lane of Route 50 at Carlin Springs Road and hit two vehicles, Arlington County Police spokesman Matt Martin said. And this morning's commute might also be slippery.
"We could see some slick conditions," said Joan Morris, a spokeswoman in Northern Virginia for the Virginia Department of Transportation. She said crews would remain on standby for possible icing.
Yesterday's storm created all the usual winter-weather hassles -- delayed or canceled flights, minor crashes on the roads -- and turned the Redskins game at FedEx Field in Landover into a slippery spectacle.
"This was a fairly typical mid-Atlantic storm, with a variety of rainfall and snowfall levels across the region," said David Manning, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
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Yet coming less than two weeks after the season's first major snowstorm, yesterday's "typical" storm ratcheted snowfall inch totals into double digits in much of the region, mostly west and north of Washington. This in a month when snowfall totals generally hover at two inches. January and February are historically much snowier months here.
"I didn't expect winter to start so soon," said Shana Smith, a graduate student at Marymount University who was out shopping yesterday. "It's just kind of nasty. It's not snow. It's not rain. It's a gross mixture."
Juan Paz was shoveling snow at an Arlington apartment building. "This summer we had a lot of rain, so this winter I think we'll have a lot of snow," he said. "I like it."
But the thought that this will be a particularly snowy season is, for now, just a hunch.
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The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center isn't forecasting unusual temperatures or precipitation in the D.C. area in the coming months. According to its "winter outlook," temperature and precipitation levels are equally likely to be above or below norms, meteorologists said.
The wariness among Washingtonians stems in part from last year's heavy snowfalls.
"People are extrasensitive," said Emily Nelson, an environmental analyst from Arlington. "We had so much snow last year."
Metro and the power companies said yesterday's service was largely unaffected by the weather.
"We only get nervous when it gets close to eight inches" of snow, Metro spokeswoman Cheryl Johnson said. "Under the new snow plan, at that point we may have to stop service at aboveground stations."
Officials at Dominion Virginia Power said they had no major weather-related service interruptions in Northern Virginia. Pepco officials said the same.
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Forecasts warned of possible freezing temperatures. The District's transportation and public works departments said they would send out 40 trucks to spread salt on bridges, overpasses and main roads to prevent ice from impeding morning rush-hour traffic.
In the parking lots near FedEx Field, the crowd that gathered for the Redskins-Cowboys game was considerably thinner than for a fair-weather day, but the fans were models of good cheer.
The tailgating ritual was barely affected.
Every few minutes, Paul Brennan of Springfield ducked out from the shelter of a green-and-white striped canopy to check the progress of his hamburger patties smoking on a covered grill. A man in a very wet knit hat walked around hawking anti-Dallas T-shirts. A few teenagers tossed a football.
"Rain or snow, this is Dallas," said Brennan, 38, who was decked out in a burgundy Redskins sweat shirt. "This is the highlight of the season."
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His friend Brian Harkleroad said that the weather made one aspect of driving to the stadium better: Not as many people were on the interstate.
"Getting here was as quick as it's ever been," he said.
In the next lot, the Rowe family and their friends passed around cognac and soda and huddled over a grill of hot charcoal. A pot of seafood gumbo simmered on a portable gas cooker.
"This is just like being at home, except just a little wet," said Bernadette Rowe, 54, of Fort Washington, who was wearing a bright red parka over four layers of clothing.
Her friend Renee Johnson was a little less enthusiastic. She had arrived about 2 p.m., two hours later than the Rowes.
"We're going to be soaked," she said, rubbing her hands near a heat lamp. "It's going to be a long game. They better win."
The Redskins lost, 27-0.
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Staff writers Sewell Chan and Petula Dvorak contributed to this report.
Emergency crews tend to victims of a multi-car accident on the Capital Beltway near the exit for Route 123 in Vienna.A roaring fire helps tailgaters at the Washington Redskins-Dallas Cowboys game at FedEx Field stay warm. Redskins fans left the game bitterly disappointed.Juan Torres, director of public works for the town of Cheverly, pitches in to plow roads of slush. Numerous minor accidents were reported across the region.
