Weather

UPDATED: NWS Says 4-8 Inches of Snow Likely

Snowball fight in front of the Clarendon Metro station on Feb. 6, 2010

(Updated at 10:40 p.m.) The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for Arlington the rest of the D.C. area this afternoon.

As of Monday night, forecasters are saying that 4-8 inches of snow is likely on Tuesday, with the heaviest snow falling around the evening rush hour.

Arlington Public Schools will be closed tomorrow due to a scheduled teacher work day. Alexandria and Fairfax County schools, among other local school systems, have announced that they will be closed Tuesday due to the snow.

From NWS:

… WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM TO 11 PM EST TUESDAY…

* PRECIPITATION TYPE… SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS… 4 TO 8 INCHES… WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.

* TIMING… SNOW WILL DEVELOP BETWEEN 7 AM AND 10 AM TUESDAY MORNING. THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS EXPECTED DURING THE MIDDAY AND AFTERNOON HOURS. SNOW WILL TAPER OFF TUESDAY EVENING.

* TEMPERATURES… IN THE 20S WHEN SNOW BEGINS TUESDAY MORNING… THEN FALLING INTO THE TEENS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WIND CHILL VALUES WILL BE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS TUESDAY AFTERNOON… FALLING TO AROUND 10 BELOW ZERO TUESDAY EVENING.

* WINDS… NORTHEAST 5 TO 10 MPH… INCREASING TO 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 30 MPH TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

* IMPACTS… ROADS WILL BE SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY. THE COMBINATION OF SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL REDUCE VISIBILITY TO BELOW ONE-HALF MILE AT TIMES. TRAVELING WILL BECOME DANGEROUS TUESDAY. THE MORNING COMMUTE MAY BE IMPACTED BY THE SNOW… AND SIGNIFICANT IMPACT IS EXPECTED FOR THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING COMMUTE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL… KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT… FOOD… AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.