Don’t drive this morning unless you absolutely have to.
That’s the message from local and state officials who are still working to clear roads amid freezing conditions.
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sleet
Heavy sleet has continued throughout the afternoon in Arlington, bringing total accumulation up to over half a foot.
The National Weather Service warned of impacts on morning commutes in an update this afternoon, advising that “travel could be nearly impossible” as a result of the sleet, snow and possible freezing rain later today. ARLnow measured 7 inches of snow and sleet in North Arlington as of 2 p.m.
Roads in Arlington are snow- and sleet-covered as of 9 a.m., leading to driving difficulties even for the professionals.
As of 8 a.m., 5 inches of snow accumulation were measured in North Arlington by ARLnow, as an increasing amount of sleet started mixing with the flakes.
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(Updated at 9 a.m.) What was supposed to be snow is actually falling as sleet this morning, but the change in precipitation is not dampening the jubilation of local students, who now have the day off.
Arlington Public Schools announced shortly after 5 a.m. that it’s a snow day, even for remote learning.
After Arlington’s biggest snowfall since early 2019, the continued winter weather hasn’t been kind to some Columbia Pike businesses already dealing with a pandemic.
Along the Pike, sidewalks remained covered in snow, slush, and salt — as sleet intermediately fell from the sky earlier this afternoon.
Arlington County is under a Winter Weather Advisory through 9 a.m. Tuesday.
A mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow is expected to fall tonight, with the precipitation likely to start around 6 p.m. Up to two inches of snow may accumulate, though if temperatures stay slightly warmer there may be little to no snow accumulation, forecasters say.
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A number of crashes have been reported around Arlington as snow and sleet cause slick conditions on local roads.
Arlington Transit has suspended at least one route, and reported major delays on others, due to the conditions. VDOT, meanwhile, is calling for people to avoid driving until conditions improve.
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Update at 10 p.m. — Snow is falling across Arlington. The federal government is opening on a two hour delay, OPM announced. Arlington County government is currently planning to open on time.
Update at 6:50 p.m. — Arlington Public Schools is planning to open on a two hour delay Monday due to “possible icing conditions.”
(Updated at 5:40 p.m.) A winter storm with mixed precipitation is turning out to be more snowy than expected inside the Beltway.
Arlington and the rest of metro D.C. has been added to a Winter Weather Advisory that had previously included points north and west of the city.
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Local roads remain partially snow and slush covered, though traffic is very light. ART buses are operating on a “severe” service schedule, while Metrobuses are operating on a “moderate” snow plan. The Metrorail system is open and operating on a Saturday schedule.
APS announced just after 4 a.m. that it would be closed today.
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“Crews began pretreating roads yesterday and will continue today to prepare for the expected icy weather conditions on the roadways,” Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Katie O’Brien told ARLnow.com Friday morning.
“Due to the low confidence of this forecast, we are still analyzing the level of response that will be required” on Saturday, O’Brien continued. “A determination of resource levels and time of activation will be made this afternoon.”
The federal government is closed, and Arlington schools, government offices, courts and facilities are closed today due to expected snow.
Sleet is falling in parts of Arlington as of 7:30, as temperatures continue to fall. Conditions are expected to deteriorate later this morning.