Snow forecasts for D.C. are split, with some predicting up to 20 inches

State of play: The Capital Weather Gang is bullish on snow.

• It forecasts 12 to 18 inches in D.C. and immediate surrounding counties, and 18 to 25 inches at Dulles International Airport this winter.
• That's more snow than last winter's 8 inches. It could be the snowiest season since 2018-2019, when it measured at just under 17 inches.

Yes, but: Check out this range, per the Washington Post…

• Paul Pastelok at AccuWeather says just 8 inches;
• ABC7 forecasts 5 to 10;
• NBC4 is saying 6 to 13;
• Fox 5 is thinking 4 to 10;
• WUSA9 … 10 to 20 inches.

What they're saying: "I think we are going to have to use the shovels," NBC4 meteorologist Doug Kammerer said this week. "But I don't think this will be a banner year for us snow lovers."

• A white Christmas? December is among the coldest months predicted by NBC4, so that helps chances.

Context: The D.C. region hasn't had normal snowfall in five winters.

• Capital Weather Gang predicts December to February to hew to La Niña expectations, producing unpredictable temperature swings.
• But its effects may wane by February. As we previously wrote, the NOAA winter outlook calls for this year's La Niña to be a weaker version, so colder weather could be in store the later we get.

The bottom line: Capital Weather Gang has been doing winter outlooks since 2005, and they give themselves an "average grade of around a C+."

• There's little accuracy in predicting weather conditions beyond eight or 10 days in advance, they note.