This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/major-winter-storm-forces-closures-cancellations-in-much-of-dc-region/2014/02/13/5634b682-9486-11e3-83b9-1f024193bb84_story.html?wprss=rss_homepage
The article has changed 19 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| 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) | |
| The biggest storm of the season dumped a thick snow blanket on the Washington area overnight, shutting down the federal government; local schools, courts and government offices; airports and Metro’s bus service. | The biggest storm of the season dumped a thick snow blanket on the Washington area overnight, shutting down the federal government; local schools, courts and government offices; airports and Metro’s bus service. |
| Highway officials in Maryland and Virginia asked drivers to stay off the roads if possible on Thursday, saying their trucks were steadily plowing and putting down salt and brine but were having a tough time keeping up. | Highway officials in Maryland and Virginia asked drivers to stay off the roads if possible on Thursday, saying their trucks were steadily plowing and putting down salt and brine but were having a tough time keeping up. |
| “As soon as we go through and do a route, it’s covered up again,” said Charlie Gischlar, a spokesman with the Maryland Department of Transportation. Flakes fell thick and fast in the early morning hours, but changed to sleet and freezing rain in some areas as the skies lightened and the temperatures rose above freezing. | “As soon as we go through and do a route, it’s covered up again,” said Charlie Gischlar, a spokesman with the Maryland Department of Transportation. Flakes fell thick and fast in the early morning hours, but changed to sleet and freezing rain in some areas as the skies lightened and the temperatures rose above freezing. |
| [Latest reports from the Capital Weather Gang.] | |
| A Virginia Department of Transportation contract worker was killed while clearing snow on Belmont Ridge Road in Ashburn, state police said. The man had pulled his truck onto the shoulder of the roadway shortly before 6 a.m. and was standing near the vehicle’s rear spreader when he was struck by a VDOT dump truck, police said. | |
| The worker was transported to a local hospital, where he died. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Police were waiting to release the man’s name until next of kin are notified. | |
| [See the latest storm updates.] | [See the latest storm updates.] |
| Metro trains were running on a normal schedule, which helped keep snow from accumulating on above-ground tracks. But the agency suspended all bus service and warned that snow depths of 8 inches or more on the tracks could halt above-ground service. | |
| Police officials said they had responded to a number of incidents where cars slid off the road or become stuck. Three accidents were reported on the Capital Beltway around 7 a.m., all involving trucks. There were no serious injuries, officials said. | |
| A tractor trailer carrying frozen food overturned on the inner loop of the Beltway near Andrews Air Force Base at Branch Avenue, blocking three of the four lanes. Another overturned tractor trailer on the Beltway at Interstate 295, near National Harbor, left the local lanes of the Beltway blocked. And an overturned dump truck at Route 1 in College Park blocked one lane. Authorities said that because so many people had stayed off the road there were no major backups as a result of the accidents. | |
| Northbound lanes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway were closed early Thursday from the Key Bridge to the Beltway but re-opened just before 9 a.m., U.S. Park Police said. Rock Creek Parkway was closed between Ohio and Beach drives. | |
| 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.VRE shut down. Amtrak was running reduced service in the Northeast. | 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.VRE shut down. Amtrak was running reduced service in the Northeast. |
| The best advice, many police and highway officials warned: Stay home if you can. And if you must go out, allow extra time - and extra space between vehicles. | The best advice, many police and highway officials warned: Stay home if you can. And if you must go out, allow extra time - and extra space between vehicles. |
| “You have to drive waaayyyy below the speed limit,” said Sgt. Mark Cummings of the Maryland State Police. | “You have to drive waaayyyy below the speed limit,” said Sgt. Mark Cummings of the Maryland State Police. |
| As the snow was intensifying about 3 a.m., it was time to go in and make the donuts. Victor Aldana, manager of a Dunkin’ Donuts in Olney, decided to borrow his parents’ Toyota Sienna minivan and pick up two other employees. Leaving Aspen Hill, he found the side streets treacherous. He retrieved the first employee just fine, but got stuck heading to the second. “I had to shovel my way out,” he said. | |
| Customers showed up once the shop was open, through far fewer than usual — and ordering far more donuts than the norm, Aldana said. “The ones that do make it in are getting enough for everybody.” | |
| The National Weather Service reported 11 inches of snow in Rockville and 12 in Kensington as of 6 a.m. There were six inches of snow at National airport, eight inches in Arlington and a foot or more in Herndon, Oakton and other parts of Fairfax County. | The National Weather Service reported 11 inches of snow in Rockville and 12 in Kensington as of 6 a.m. There were six inches of snow at National airport, eight inches in Arlington and a foot or more in Herndon, Oakton and other parts of Fairfax County. |
| Those who did venture out to drive moved at a snail’s pace on the Capital Beltway, Interstate 66 in Virginia and Route 50 in Maryland. Many secondary roads and back streets were virtually impassable. Virginia highway officials said there were a number of disabled vehicles on Interstate 95. | |
| 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. | |
| In Maryland, Metro stations and trains were mostly empty along the Green Line, except for platform workers in bright orange outfits shoveling and snowblowing. | |
| As he walked on to the College Park U.-of-Md. platform shorty after 8 a.m., Matt Townsend, 26, said he saw no reason to batter down the hatches and stay home from his job at a church in Washington. | |
| “This type of weather doesn’t scare me,” said Townsend, who lives in College Park. “Ten inches isn’t anything to be freaking out about, to be honest.” | |
| A lifelong resident of the D.C. area, Townsend said he knows the region tends to overreact to winter storms. But he trusts the area’s transportation agencies can handle the challenge, especially Metro, he said. | |
| “They make sure everybody gets home,” Townsend said. | |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 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. | 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. |
| “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. | “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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| But for those who were helping to clear and monitor roads, there was a sense of exhaustion Thursday morning. | |
| Steve Shannon, residency maintenance administrator for Virginia’s Department of Transportation in Loudoun County had been working since the previous morning, straight through the night. | |
| “We’re in plow mode,” he said, “treating the roads and plowing. Unfortunately we’ve got over 13, 14 inches in parts of Loudoun already, and it’s still coming down hard. So we’re in plow mode, concentrating on the primary roads and the high-volume secondary roads.” | |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. |
| “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,” 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.” |
| Michael Rosenwald, Steve Hendrix, Patrick Svitek, Emma Brown, Patricia Sullivan, Martin Weil, Susan Svrluga, Antonio Olivo, Michael A. Chandler, Lynh Bui, Luz Lazo, Lori Aratani, Mike DeBonis, Mark Berman, Donna St. George, Laura Vozzella, John Wagner, Ovetta Wiggins and Clarence Williams contributed to this report. | |
| Get updates on your area delivered via e-mail | Get updates on your area delivered via e-mail |