Update at 8:15 a.m. — County government offices and courts will open at 10:00 a.m. From Arlington Alert: “County plows are working around the clock, but road conditions remain slippery. If you must drive, please exercise caution.”
Arlington Public Schools will be closed Wednesday.
Although technically there were three days off due to inclement weather — December 9 and 10 and January 3 — only January 3 needs to be made up. December 9 and 10 do not have to be made up because additional instructional hours were already built into the calendar.
The altered schedule only applies to elementary schools with Early Release, which includes Arlington Science Focus, Arlington Traditional, Long Branch, Nottingham, Oakridge, Taylor and Tuckahoe. Because additional instructional hours had already been built in for middle schools, high schools and elementary schools with Limited Early Release, those schools do not have to make up the time. Limited Early Release elementary schools include Abingdon, Ashlawn, Barcroft, Barrett, Campbell, Carlin Springs, Claremont, Drew, Glebe, Henry, Hoffman-Boston, Jamestown, Key, McKinley and Randolph.
The Arlington County government will still open on time. Federal government employees have the option for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework today.
The Arlington County Office of Emergency Management reports that trees and wires came down around the county during the overnight hours. Crews are currently on the scene of a large tree and wires down in the roadway at S. 23rd Street between S. Kent Street and S. Lynn Street. The road will be closed until the obstruction is safely removed. The incident has knocked out power to more than 500 homes, according to Dominion Power.
Earlier — All of the weather advisories for Arlington County have been cancelled and the snow has stopped falling, but the storm’s effects still linger around the county.
There are 250 customers without power according to Dominion’s outage map. Some of those are residual from Sunday’s ice storm, which knocked out power to about 1,700 Arlington customers.
APS announced the decision just after 5:00 this morning. Classes are canceled but school offices are to remain open, with essential employees still expected to report to work.
The federal government, meanwhile, is closed this morning, as are Arlington County courts. But Arlington County government will be open, with an unscheduled leave and telework policy for employees. ART buses will operate on a limited schedule.
Update at 9:30 a.m. — Glebe Road is shut down between Military Road and Chain Bridge Road due to a downed tree.
Update at 9:15 a.m. — The number of Dominion customers without power in Arlington has climbed to nearly 1,700. Meanwhile, Washington Boulevard is closed at Powhatan Street due to a downed tree and live power lines.
Arlington was one of the only local school systems to not close early on Friday due to the threat of snow. It’s now the only school system inside the Beltway to close today; D.C., Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and Alexandria are all on a two-hour delay.
Meanwhile, with the federal government on a delayed opening, traffic volume on local roads and highways is very light.
Schools, Gov’t Offices Closed Today — Arlington Public Schools are closed today for all classes and activities. All Arlington County offices, libraries, courts, schools, community centers and nature centers are closed. Federal government offices are also closed. ART bus service has been suspended for the day and Metro bus and rail service has been suspended for at least the morning.
Candidates Night Canceled — A local candidates debate scheduled for tonight at 7:00 has been cancelled. The debate was to be held at Resurrection Lutheran Church (6201 Washington Blvd) and was sponsored by a number of north Arlington civic association. In lieu of the debate, an informal candidate meet and greet may be held, weather permitting, at the Westover Beer Garden (5863 Washington Blvd) at 7:00 p.m. [Facebook]
All classes and activities have been canceled Monday at Arlington Public Schools in advance of the storm, which is now expected to drop 5 to 10 inches of rain and pack wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour between tonight and Tuesday.
Metro has suspended all rail, bus and MetroAccess service starting Monday. Service will remain suspended “until further notice.” ART bus service has also been suspended Monday.
Campbell Elementary School (737 South Carlin Springs Road) is closed today due to a sewage backup in the area, school administrators said this morning.
“Because of the backup there are no bathroom facilities for students to use,” administrators wrote in an email to parents.
With many side streets still snow-covered, with power still out in many areas, and with a refreeze predicted tonight, Arlington County Schools have decided to remain closed Friday.
It’s the third day in a row that schools have been affected by weather. Schools were closed Thursday and let out two hours early on Wednesday.
