(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.
Yesterday’s Winter Storm Watch has been upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning.
The winter storm that has been causing major problems in Texas and the central U.S. is making its way towards the D.C. area on its march up to New England. It’s expected to drop 3-6 inches of snow on Arlington and the immediate D.C. area before the precipitation switches to sleet and freezing rain.
Arlington is under a Winter Storm Watch from Wednesday night until Thursday night.
The watch was issued shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday. Forecasters say five or more inches of snow, plus some ice accumulation, is possible in the D.C. area during that timeframe.
Another Snowstorm on the Way? — “Confidence is growing in a messy mix of wintry precipitation in the Washington region Thursday, the latest in a parade of wintry weather events since late January… Parts of the region could see significant amounts of snow and/or ice before a possible change to rain. The precipitation, which may be heavy at times, is likely to continue into Thursday night or very early Friday morning.” [Washington Post]
More Details on Pike CVS Development — “Last summer, the public caught wind of upcoming plans to redevelop the Fillmore Gardens Shopping Center on Columbia Pike in Arlington. Now… [a] rezoning application has been filed to apply Columbia Pike-specific zoning to the property at 2601 Columbia Pike (map) in order to deliver The Elliott, a six-story building with 248 apartments with a new CVS pharmacy and a grocery store on the ground floor.” [Urban Turf]
(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) Another round of wintry weather is on tap, starting late night.
A Winter Weather Advisory was issued this morning for Arlington and other parts of the region, with forecasters calling for 1-3 inches of snow accumulation through Thursday morning. Additional rounds of snowfall are expected in the days ahead.
Arlington residents should “take steps today to prepare for winter weather,” the county’s emergency management office says.
Snow is in the forecast for seven of the next eight days, and the National Weather Service is cautioning of a winter storm threat from Thursday into Friday. (See below.)
Despite temperatures expected to reach 50 degrees today, Arlington is mere hours from the start of a winter storm with snowfall that may exceed that of last weekend.
A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for Arlington and surrounding communities, with forecasters calling for 3-6 inches of accumulation. The warning is in effect from 3 a.m.-noon on Super Bowl Sunday.
Arlington County and much of the D.C. region is under a Winter Storm Watch, with close to a half-foot of snow possible over the weekend.
The National Weather Service issued the watch this afternoon, saying that the snow will fall from late Saturday night through the afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday. That’s despite today’s relative warmth, in the mid-50s.
This morning, in western Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and thus prognosticated six more weeks of winter.
If you were to only count the couple of hours after the prediction in Arlington, the groundhog was spot on.
Virtual Learning Day for In-Person Students — “Due to inclement weather, tomorrow, Tue, Feb. 2, Level 1 students receiving in-person learning support will temporarily revert to distance learning, and the return date for Level 2 Career & Technical Education students will be Feb. 3, depending on weather.” [Twitter]
Limited Service for ART Buses — “Tuesday, Feb. 2: Due to ongoing inclement weather, ART will operate *Limited* service on Tuesday, February 2. All routes will operate regular weekday schedules, but delays are possible and some routes will detour. Additional alerts will be sent if conditions should change during the day.” [Arlington Transit]
A relatively slow snow day for public safety personnel got busier this afternoon after a pair of significant emergency incidents occurred within 15 minutes of one another.
First, firefighters responded to the grounds of Missionhurst, a church facility near Marymount University, for a report of a 12-year-old who had suffered a head injury after sledding into a tree. The call was soon upgraded from a standard injury response to a technical rescue due to the terrain.
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.
