Update at 8:10 PM – The Pentagon City Harris Teeter is closing within the hour. The Ballston store is planning to close at midnight. Both stores say it is unlikely they’ll open tomorrow.
Local Giant stores are, apparently, toughing out the storm. The South Glebe Road and the Virginia Square stores are both planning on closing at midnight and re-opening at 6:00 AM.
Update at 4:30 PM – From Arlington Alert: “Arlington County Libraries, Schools, and Park activities are cancelled & facilities closed through Sunday”
Update at 1:15 PM – Fairfax County government is shutting down at 2:00 PM. Crystal Couture is canceled tonight. One place that’s opening for business instead of closing: Bakeshop is opening its doors at 2.
Okay, so we might be getting pretty worked up about Snowmageddon over here at arlnow.com. But it’s probably best not to sound gleeful — this is a dangerous storm, as the National Weather Service told WaPo’s Capital Weather Gang.
Truly, though, if someone is too excited about the snow it’s this guy.
The snow is sticking in Crystal City. Visibility is deteriorating as the snow picks up in intensity.
The first small, wet flakes have started falling across the area. So far, though, the snow is melting as soon as it hits the ground. That will likely be the story for awhile, since the temperature is hovering around 36 degrees.
Arlington County snow crews are scheduled to deploy at 4:00 this morning to try to get a jump on the storm. They’ve been given the futile-sounding task of pre-treating roads in advance of up to 26 inches of snow. They’ll have at least five hours to prepare for Snowmageddon — the first flakes are predicted to begin falling as early as 9:00 AM.
Here’s an etiquette guide for drivers who find themselves behind a snow plow.
Arlington County’s $1 million snow removal budget was exceeded during this past weekend’s snow storm. Although exact figures are not available, the impending 16 to 26 inches of snow is guaranteed to push the budget further into the red.
Other local government are also feeling the pinch from this winter’s back-to-back-to-back storms. VDOT and DDOT are well over-budget, WTOP reported this week.
Update at 12:00 AM – Both the Ballston and the Pentagon City Harris Teeter stores are running very low on many essentials. Much of what is left is the more specialty-type items. As of 11:30 PM, the Pentagon City Harris Teeter still had very long lines.
Parking spaces were scarce outside the Shopper’s Food Warehouse at Potomac Yard tonight. At the Harris Teeter in Pentagon City, register lines stretched nearly the length of the store’s isles. Meanwhile on South Fern Street, drivers waiting to get into the Costco parking lot resorted to honking out of frustration with the massive backup.
Arlington Public Schools will be closed Friday. The Arlington County government will be open, with a liberal leave policy for staff.
The Montessori School of Northern Virginia in Falls Church will also be closed tomorrow. And the Diocese of Arlington’s Catholic Charities Ball has been postponed.
Some hardy souls may try to drive this weekend, despite pleas from local governments for drivers to stay off the road. If you absolutely, positively must drive, you’re likely to encounter a few salt trucks along the way. For many drivers, the exact rules of engagement around slow-moving salt trucks is unclear. Do you pass? How close to you get? To help shed some light, here are some salt truck safety tips, as emailed to arlnow.com from the county’s Department of Environmental Services:
Snow Operations Tips: Roadway Safety
This is starting to sound very familiar: a major snowstorm is heading our way, just in time for the weekend. The storm is looking increasingly likely to be on par with the impact of the Dec. 19 “Snowpocalypse.” Most forecasters are predicting a minimum of 10 inches, with up to two feet possible. The fact that the snow is supposed to start around midday Friday should help facilitate an early start to the weekend for many.
Meanwhile, the state and the county have gone into full-blown end-of-the-world mode. Yesterday Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell declared what is likely his first state of emergency (mazel tov!), a full two days ahead of the storm. Arlington County, not to be outdone, is warning of “near blizzard conditions” and asking residents to be prepared to shelter in place for 3 to 5 days. From the Arlington Alerts:
