Another winter storm could arrive in Arlington in a few days, but forecasts are still shaky going into the weekend.
As of this afternoon, the National Weather Service is predicting increasing odds of a winter storm warning going into effect on Sunday, and places Arlington at “elevated” risk for heavy snow and sleet.
A Winter Storm Watch went into effect this afternoon in some of D.C.’s northern suburbs. For Arlington, many forecasters are expecting at least a couple inches of snow, if not more, as temperatures dip Sunday night after a rainy day.
National Weather Service now at a 50-80% chance of a “winter storm warning” level impact (5”+ snow) DC & northeast. 80%+ on the Eastern Shore & New Jersey.
They’ve raised their threat risk to “Elevated” for much of the area. pic.twitter.com/Gh9JqrGDgf
— Mike Thomas (@MikeTFox5) February 20, 2026
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is in “sit and wait mode” for the time being, Northern Virginia District spokesperson Alex Liggitt told ARLnow.
“We won’t plan on pretreating due to the forecast for rain at the onset of precipitation,” Liggitt said. “We don’t know what level we will mobilize at yet due to the differences in the forecast, but will likely be staged and ready to go with whatever may come our way by Sunday morning.”
The agency has been restocking materials throughout the week.
Arlington County’s Department of Environmental Services has similar plans, spokesperson Katie O’Brien told ARLnow.
“We plan to have a crew on Sunday afternoon/evening available to begin treating roadways, if needed,” she said. “We are watching the forecast closely and will make any adjustments if anything changes.”
We want to be very clear… we are making a forecast — it's for 1-3" of wet snow in the DC area — mostly falling Sunday night into Monday morning… but our confidence in amounts is low and everyone should be aware that adjustments will probably be necessary. https://t.co/KBuuEerLzc
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) February 20, 2026
