The advisory calls for 1-3 inches of snow in the D.C. metro area, with the flakes starting to fall tomorrow morning and continuing through the afternoon, possibly affecting the evening rush. The heaviest snow is predicted to fall in the late morning and early afternoon.
Although temperatures are hovering in the mid-to-high-40s this afternoon, they’re expected to drop to right around freezing overnight. The weather could prove tricky for morning commutes and school buses.
(Updated at 6:05 p.m.) Crews will be out pre-treating major and secondary roads tonight and early tomorrow morning in advance of another winter weather system threatening the area.
Arlington snow crews are already treating primary and secondary roads with brine, according to Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Jessica Baxter, and those efforts will continue tonight. Those efforts will continue throughout the morning if snow begins to fall and accumulate.
The National Weather Service is warning that falling temperatures overnight may cause Monday’s rain to freeze and become Tuesday morning’s ice.
The refreeze could make the morning commute treacherous. From NWS:
Arlington Public Schools has yet to announce any sort of delay Monday, despite concerns about freezing rain.
ABC 7 meteorologist Steve Rudin doesn’t think that’s such a good idea.
Arlington County and much of the D.C. region is now under a Freezing Rain Advisory.
Forecasters say a period of light freezing rain is possible tomorrow morning, making travel hazardous.
Wind chills will drop below zero as the temperature drops and winds gust up to 35 miles per hour, according to forecasters.
The county’s Emergency Winter Shelter in Courthouse is open all day today and is expected to remain open during the day tomorrow.
(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) The snow has stopped and the sun came out this afternoon, but the bad weather news might not be over yet with below-freezing temperatures expected tonight and tomorrow.
Arlington is continuing its efforts to clear the roads and is on Phase 3 of its snow removal process, clearing residential side streets, county staff said this afternoon.
(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) Arlington County officials say more snow arrived than they expected this morning — 3 inches so far, according to the National Weather Service — leading to widespread traffic, transit delays and accidents.
The NWS declared a Winter Storm Warning just after 9:00 a.m., now predicting the region gets more than 4 inches of snow by 1:00 p.m. Several of the accidents this morning have involved school buses, and the Arlington County Police Department tweeted that they received 71 calls for traffic accidents between 6:00 and 10:00 a.m.
(Updated at 10:25 a.m.) This morning’s commute is officially a traffic nightmare for anyone still out on the roads.
The map above shows just how bad traffic is around the region as two and a half inches of slick, powdery snow have fallen. Numerous accidents have been reported around the county as students make their way to school and commuters make their way to work.
(Updated at 7:30 a.m.) Roads are covered with white, powdery snow as Arlington and the rest of the D.C. region gets its first snow of the year and first measurable snow of the season.
Several accidents have been reported around Arlington as an inch or so of snow has made driving treacherous. The crashes are happening throughout the county — on I-395, Glebe Road at Route 50, Wilson Blvd and elsewhere.
Forecasters say the area could get 1-2 inches of snow Tuesday morning. The timing of the storm might make the morning commute miserable.
Arlington County crews have started pre-treating roads and bike trails with brine, as part of a “Phase 1: Alert” snow removal status.
Four out of ten D.C. area residents — nearly 2.5 million people — are expected to travel 50 miles or more during the 13-day holiday travel period around Christmas and New Year’s, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
That’s up 3.3 percent from 2013.
