Arlington Bracing for Another Significant Snow Storm

Arlington County is bracing for a yet another significant snowstorm, with forecasters calling for up to 8 inches of accumulation Thursday.

Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services says they will have all 50 of their snow-clearing trucks ready to clear Arlington’s 974 lane miles of roadway. So far, the department does not have an estimate for when crews will be able to move from clearing main roads to residential streets.

“We are closely monitoring the weather and will have our full resources (approximately 50 trucks) available,” said DES spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel. “The actual amount of snow that falls and the duration of the event (how long it falls) will dictate when our trucks can move from Phase 2 of clearing Primary Routes to Phase 3 – Residential Streets. We will notify the community when we shift phases.”

Whalen McDaniel said the heavy rain that’s expected today (Wednesday) will make pre-treating roads virtually impossible.

The National Weather Service, meanwhile, has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Arlington and the D.C. area.

… WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 PM EST THURSDAY…

* PRECIPITATION TYPES… WINTRY MIX… THEN ALL SNOW… HEAVY AT TIMES.
* ACCUMULATIONS… SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 4 TO 8 INCHES… ALONG WITH AROUND A TRACE OF ICE.
* TIMING… RAIN CHANGES TO WINTRY MIX AROUND MIDNIGHT THEN ALL SNOW THURSDAY. SNOW HEAVIEST THURSDAY LATE MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON.
* TEMPERATURES… IN THE UPPER 20S.
* WINDS… NORTH 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH.
* IMPACTS… ROADS WILL BE SNOW COVERED… VISIBILITIES WILL DROP TO AROUND A QUARTER-MILE AT TIMES… MAKING TRAVEL DANGEROUS.

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.