County Prepping for Possible Snow on Sunday
(Updated at 2:05 p.m.) Here we go again. Right in the midst of a stretch of mild weather, we’re bracing for the possibility of snow this weekend.
Forecasters have been predicting some sort of precipitation on Sunday, but it’s unclear whether it will be mainly snow or rain. As is often the case in our area, weather models are changing by the hour. Don’t get your hopes up for a repeat of the Presidents Day Blizzard of 2003 — but do plan on the chance of the season’s most significant snowfall.
In advance of the possible storm, the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services has issued a Phase 1 Alert, meaning crews will pre-treat roads with salt or brine as necessary. They’re also preparing snow removal equipment and personnel for the weekend.
Dominion Virginia Power also reports making preparations. Trucks are being stocked and fueled, and crews are ready to respond to outages. Customers can call 1-866-DOM-HELP to report outages and downed lines.
County Road Crews Prepare for Snowy Commute
With snow expected during tonight’s evening commute, Arlington County road crews have been placed on alert and are poised to treat roads when the white stuff starts falling.
Crews are also pre-treating roads with salt and brine this afternoon in preparation for the winter weather, according to the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services.
The Office of Personnel Management announced this morning that federal employees may use unscheduled leave to go home early today, if desired.
File photo
Arlington Bracing for Winter Weather Tonight
The D.C. area is under a Winter Weather Advisory tonight as an approaching storm is expected to drop snow, sleet and freezing rain on the region.
Forecasters say the precipitation will begin around 11:00 tonight, starting off as snow and sleet before transitioning to freezing rain overnight. The weather event is expected to end as plain rain around 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. Locally, snow and sleet accumulation could total up to an inch, with up to 1/10 inch of freezing rain, according to the National Weather Service.
Arlington County crews are preparing for the winter weather by pre-treating main roads with salt brine (see photo) to guard against icy conditions. Still, the county is asking residents to avoid unnecessary car trips during the storm.
“Team members and their equipment will be on standby overnight and will remain so until the weather event turns to full rain,” said Arlington Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel. “Residents are encouraged to stay off the roads due to the potential for hazardous conditions.”
Photo courtesy Arlington DES
Arlington County Leaf Collection Update
Arlington County’s incredibly detail-oriented vacuum leaf collection effort (see the county-produced video, above) is slightly behind schedule due to rainy weather.
Arlington is now planning to begin its first leaf collection pass in ‘Zone 4′ neighborhoods on Friday, while Zone 5 (out of five) will have to wait until next Wednesday. Zone 3 collections are still underway, the Arlington Department of Environmental Services said via Twitter this morning.
A second and final round of vacuum leaf collection will take place in December.
Leaf bag collections are still proceeding as normal, on the day after residents’ normal trash collection.
Dept. of Environmental Services Profiled in Video
Editor’s Note: Earlier this month we ran an article based on a county-produced video that profiled the Arlington Department of Environmental Services. Within hours, the video was pulled down. County spokespeople later explained that the video was accidentally uploaded in an incomplete form. The video has since been re-uploaded, and we’re posting it and much of the original article again for the benefit of readers.
With about 375 full-time employees and an operating budget of more than $70 million, the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services is in charge of maintaining the county’s streets, street signs, street lights, water lines, and sewers. It also collects your trash and leaves, runs the county’s snow plows and operates transit programs.
A new video (above) from Arlington County explores the many ways DES is a part of our every day lives.
The video contains a number of staggering facts about the infrastructure within our 26 square mile county, the smallest self-governing county — geographically — in the United States.
For instance, Arlington maintains 961 lane miles of roads, some 100,000 traffic signs, 526 miles of water lines, and enough sanitary sewer lines to stretch from here to Boston, Mass. Also featured in the video: a new remote-controlled camera that searches sewer lines for pipes that have broken due to tree roots and other factors.
Video: Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services
Update at 3:20 p.m. — The county has removed the video. The video was not supposed to have been made public yet, says Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Myllisa Kennedy.
The Department of Environmental Services may be Arlington County government’s largest single department.
With about 375 full-time employees and an operating budget of more than $70 million, the department is in charge of maintaining the county’s streets, street signs, street lights, water lines, and sewers. It also collects your trash and leaves, runs the county’s snow plows and operates transit programs.
A new video (above) from Arlington County explores the many ways DES is a part of our every day lives.
The video contains a number of staggering facts about the infrastructure within our 26 square mile county, the smallest self-governing county — geographically — in the United States.
For instance, Arlington maintains 961 lane miles of roads, some 100,000 traffic signs, 526 miles of water lines, and enough sanitary sewer lines to stretch from here to Boston, Mass. Also featured in the video: a new remote-controlled camera that searches sewer lines for pipes that have broken due to tree roots and other factors.
