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Major winter storm forces closures, cancellations in much of D.C. region Major winter storm forces closures, cancellations in much of D.C. region
(35 minutes later)
A winter storm blanketed the Washington area with a steady snowfall early Thursday as it swept north after shutting down much of the Deep South on Wednesday. The biggest storm of the season dumped a thick snow blanket on the Washington area overnight and early Thursday, shutting down the federal government; local schools, courts and government offices; airports and Metro’s bus service.
As the snow piled up on area streets, Metro suspended all bus service “until further notice” at 3:30 a.m. due to weather and road conditions. Metro opened the rail system at 5 a.m. with trains running on a normal weekday schedule. The agency warned that snow depths of 8 inches or more could result in above-ground service being suspend due to concerns about snow in contact with the electrified third rail. Highway officials in Maryland and Virginia asked drivers to stay off the roads if possible, saying their trucks were steadily plowing and putting down salt and brine but were having a tough time keeping up.
Downtown Washington had about 4 inches of snow as of 3 a.m., and the flakes were continuing to fall rapidly. “It’s overall coverage of roads,” said Charlie Gischlar, a spokesman with the Maryland Department of Transportation. “As soon as we go through and do a route, it’s covered up again.”
But with plenty of warning, Washington and its surroundings appeared to be ready for this storm. Flakes fell thick and fast in the early morning hours, but changed to sleet and freezing rain in some areas after 6 a.m.
Late Wednesday, snowplows and salt trucks were poised, states of emergency had been declared, the populace was braced and the obligatory trio — bread, milk and toilet paper — had been swept from market shelves. [See the latest storm updates.]
None of those pre-storm cliches about winter weather needed dusting off this time as the Washington region prepared for what threatened to be the worst storm of a long season of cold and snow. Metro’s rail system opened at 5 a.m., with trains running on a normal weekday schedule. But the agency suspended all bus service “until further notice” and warned that snow depths of 8 inches or more could result in a halt to above-ground rail service due to concerns about snow coming into contact with the electrified third rail.
Although the forecast of at least four to eight inches of snow, plus sleet and freezing rain, would draw snorts of laughter from those who live not so terribly far to the north — Philadelphia and New York have been snowbound this year — Washington battened down for weather paralysis. VRE shut down, and Amtrak was running reduced service on some of its trains in the Northeast. George Washington Memorial Parkway was closed from Interstate 495 to the Key Bridge, U.S. Park Police said, and Rock Creek Parkway was closed between Ohio and Beach drives.
The federal government decided at about 10 p.m. Wednesday to close offices on Thursday. D.C. government offices are closed, and public schools throughout the region are closed as are all of D.C.’s charter schools. Georgetown, George Washington, American University and the University of the District of Columbia all canceled Thursday classes. Police officials said there were no reports of major accidents, but they had responded to a number of incidents where cars slid off the road or become stuck.
The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang forecast that four to eight inches of snow would be on the ground by 7 a.m. Thursday, with greater accumulations possible locally. Within 15 miles of Interstate 95 and points east, snow was likely to mix with and change to sleet and freezing rain between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. All runways were closed at Ronald Reagan National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. More than 300 flights were canceled at Reagan, along with 123 at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, according to FlightAware. At Dulles, 201 flights were canceled.
In western Fairfax and Montgomery, snow was expected to continue, possibly bringing several more inches of accumulation. The best advice, many police and highway officials warned: Stay home if you can.
As the first dusting of snow covered the District’s sidewalks and streets, at least one Yellow Cab driver was unfazed by the prospect of yet another snowfall. And if you must go out, allow extra time. For drivers, police said to leave plenty of space between vehicles because stopping in the snow is hard. They suggested that cars stay behind snow plows if possible.
“The weather is going to do what it’s going to do,’’ said Charles Smoke, 55, a car salesman who was working on a day off as a part-time cabbie. “I’m gonna go out here right now and get me some fares while I can.” “If you’re going to be out you have to drive waaayyyy below the speed limit,” said Sgt. Mark Cummings of the Maryland State Police.
The declarations of snow emergencies were more than show: They mean that vehicles parked on designated snow emergency routes have to be moved to clear the way for plows. There were varied snowfall totals reported throughout the region. Nine inches in parts of Fairfax and Fauquier counties. Eight to 11 inches in Germantown, Kensington and Damascus. Six inches in Alexandria and Prince William County, three inches in St. Mary’s County. Reports inside the District varied from five to as much as 11 inches of snow.
“We are ready, our equipment is ready, and we have plenty of salt,” said William O. Howland Jr., director of the District’s Department of Public Works. “Of course, if enough snow accumulates, we will plow the streets.” [Latest reports from the Capital Weather Gang.]
Howland said that under the snow emergency, which went into effect at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, vehicles parked on those routes would be towed and their owners would face a $250 fine plus towing fees. “We’re going to impound every snow-emergency vehicle,” he said. The prospect of significant snow followed by ice and rain put power lines at risk. Pepco, which serves the District and much of the Maryland suburbs, said it had about 600 linemen ready to react to the storm. Dominion Virginia Power warned customers to be prepared for prolonged power outages should ice or wet, heavy snow down lines. The utility said it was working through the Southeastern Electric Exchange to make sure additional resources were available. About 700 non-Dominion line crews from states as far away as Michigan, Louisiana and Oklahoma were scheduled to be in the region through Friday, according to the Dominion Web site.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) also declared snow emergencies that prohibit cars from parking on designated emergency routes. The storm system swept into the Washington area from the Deep South, where it has had a crippling effect. More than 4,000 flights were canceled across the country , many of them flights that would have traveled through Atlanta.
“There’s a big swath of nasty snow and ice that’s moving up the East Coast,” O’Malley said during an early afternoon news conference Wednesday. “It’s a big storm, and it has the potential to do a lot of damage.” With plenty of warning ahead of the storm, Washington and its surrounding suburbs appeared to be relatively ready when the white stuff started coming down. Late Wednesday, snowplows and salt trucks were poised, states of emergency had been declared. And grocery stores and hardware stores were swamped as people stocked up on shovels, sleds, bread and milk.
The prospect of significant snow followed by ice and rain put power lines at risk. The federal government decided at about 10 p.m. Wednesday to close on Thursday. With snow emergencies in place in Virginia, Maryland and the District, vehicles were barred from parking on designated snow emergency routes to clear the way for plows.
Pepco, which serves the District and much of the Maryland suburbs, said it had about 600 linemen ready to react. “We are ready, our equipment is ready, and we have plenty of salt,” William O. Howland Jr., director of the District’s Department of Public Works said on Wednesday.
Virginia Dominion Power warned customers to be prepared for prolonged power outages should ice or wet, heavy snow down lines. The utility said it was working through the Southeastern Electric Exchange to make sure additional resources were available. About 700 non-Dominion line crews from states as far away as Michigan, Louisiana and Oklahoma were scheduled to be in the region through Friday, according to the Dominion Web site. Howland said that under the snow emergency, vehicles parked on those routes would be towed and their owners would face a $250 fine plus towing fees. “We’re going to impound every snow-emergency vehicle,” he said.
The District and state agencies in Maryland and Virginia said they had plenty of salt despite a winter that has consumed thousands of tons of it. The District and state agencies in Maryland and Virginia said they had plenty of salt despite a winter that has consumed thousands of tons of it. But many area governments have blown through the snow removal budgets this winter.
Maryland has used about 319,000 tons of salt and has more than 240,000 tons available. In Virginia, the Department of Transportation’s storm budget is $63 million but it has already spent $83 million. The Montgomery Department of Transportation has spent $13 million on snow removal, of which $3 million went for salt, spokeswoman Esther Bowring said. In Prince George’s, where $2.8 million was allocated for snow removal this year, the county has spent $7.4 million, officials said.
“We are moving some salt within our districts in preparation of this storm,” said Valerie Burnette Edgar of the Maryland State Highway Administration. “Higher snow accumulations require more plowing, less salting. The sleet, freezing rain, ice storms obviously require more salt use.”
Virginia’s Department of Transportation has used about 157,000 tons in the northern counties adjacent to the District and has 65,000 tons on hand.
“We are in very good shape,” said agency spokeswoman Joan Morris.
Morris said the agency’s storm budget for Northern Virginia is $63 million.
“We already spent $83 million,” she said, “and this could easily be a $30 million storm.”
The Montgomery Department of Transportation has spent $13 million on snow removal, of which $3 million went for salt, spokeswoman Esther Bowring said.
She said that in years such as this, the agency requests supplemental funds to cover the excess cost.
In Prince George’s, where $2.8 million was allocated for snow removal this year, the county has spent $7.4 million, officials said.
In Southern Maryland’s Charles County, $1.1 million had been spent through the most recent snowfall last week, far exceeding the $782,100 that was approved for this year’s snow-removal efforts.In Southern Maryland’s Charles County, $1.1 million had been spent through the most recent snowfall last week, far exceeding the $782,100 that was approved for this year’s snow-removal efforts.
Steve Staples, chief of the road division in Charles, said that preparing for the ninth storm this year requires slowing down other services, including trimming trees and cleaning ditches. And agencies have to make sure to get enough salt because demand across the region can affect deliveries. “It has definitely been busier than other years,” said Steve Staples, chief of the road division in Charles County. “We are on storm number nine. In years past, we have had two or three storms.”
“It has definitely been busier than other years,” Staples said. “We are on storm number nine. In years past, we have had two or three storms.” Charles is preparing for four to 10 inches of snow Wednesday night. Luz Lazo, Lori Aratani, Mike DeBonis, Mark Berman, Donna St. George, Laura Vozzella, John Wagner, Ovetta Wiggins and Clarence Williams contributed to this report.
“We are hoping for rain,” he said.
In Richmond, the House and Senate sent their teenage pages home for the weekend, fearing that by the end of the week, parents wouldn’t be able to travel to pick them up.
“Some of them live in southwest Virginia, and we just wanted to be sure they got home safely,” said Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar. But legislators in the General Assembly, which has called only one snow day in the past 40 years, expected to work no matter what the weather is.
“We’re planning to go ahead,” Schaar said.
Lori Aratani, Mike DeBonis, Mark Berman, Donna St. George, Laura Vozzella, John Wagner, Ovetta Wiggins and Clarence Williams contributed to this report.
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