This winter in Virginia has been unbalanced because of the unusually warm weather we’ve been having. This poses the question, will there be any snow days this year? On Tuesday, Jan. 7, Virginia got a little taste of winter when it started snowing in the afternoon. Thankfully the weather was cold enough for the snow to stick instead of just melting when it hit the ground. It snowed for a couple of hours but stopped at night, leaving only about an inch of snow on the streets. Sadly, in the morning, much of the snow melted but left roads icy, causing Fairfax County Public Schools to have their first school day cancelation this year. Throughout Wednesday, much of the snow had melted and temperatures went up to mid 40’s. Although taking a look at the next couple of days, the chances of snow again seems unlikely and there is a high chance of no snow until mid to late January

Beginning Friday to Wednesday, temperatures will rise from fifty to almost seventy degrees Fahrenheit which makes it almost impossible for snow to fall and stick. Also, the nights of those days will not fall below freezing so snow won’t be able to stay as well. After Wednesday temperatures will start to rise to only mid 40’s but drops below freezing as well, which gives a greater chance of snowfall. There will be chances of precipitation as well during the colder days so snow might be able to form. Although, the weather forecast says that there will be rain/snow showers coming up which makes it seem like there will be more slush than actual snow. Nevertheless, with the cold temperatures coming up later in January there will be possibilities of snow days. Forecasters speak of having a cold February as well, so there might be some snow days then but it is not for sure whether the temperatures will rise during then.

As you can tell, temperatures during the winter season this year are fluctuating a lot, making parts of winter feel like summer. This shows that climate change is affecting the world greatly and giving us fewer snow days than in previous years. With the earth getting hotter, it is affecting the duration of winter making it a shorter season and one with barely any snow. So to answer the question, yes, there is a semi-high probability that we will have snow days, but it is likely that the snow will not stick around for as long as we’d like.