Update at 2:00 p.m. — The winter storm warning has been dropped. Arlington is now expected to just get a dusting of snow.
Update at 3:00 a.m. — It now appears that the storm will be smaller than anticipated locally.
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snow
Now, instead of a blast of snow on Tuesday, as once predicted, snow lovers are being told to wait until Christmas.
Surely, snow fans must be getting a bit frustrated. If there’s one time of year when it would be nice to have some more white stuff on the ground, it’s the holiday season.
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Instead, while Fairfax and Loudoun students enjoyed a two-hour early release, Arlington students toughed it out.
It was a somewhat gutsy call, because anything that goes wrong on the way home is going to to be blamed on the administrators. And yes, things did go wrong.
A-SPAN Holds Holiday Gala — The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network held its 5th annual Help the Homeless Holiday Gala last night at Artisphere in Rosslyn. Party-goers were treated to food from Lebanese Taverna, Santa Fe Cafe and Sushi Rock, music from BMT and a performance by BalletNova. An auction held to benefit A-SPAN proved that deep down, there is something people care about more than politics in Washington. Tickets to a Capitals / Tampa Bay Lightning game fetched a higher price than a private lunch for four with Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va).
VSP Busy During Snowstorm — Virginia State Police responded to a total of 555 calls for service during yesterday’s snowstorm. Of those calls, 109 were for crashes and 135 were for disabled vehicles.
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Earlier we reported that North Veitch Street had been shut down near Lee Highway due to slippery conditions on a hill that led to a minor accident.
Now we’re hearing of big problems on at least three other hilly roads.
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If students are disappointed about not going home early, they can take solace in the fact that the school board is in the same boat. Tonight’s school board meeting will be held as scheduled.
Unlike Arlington, a number of local school systems including Fairfax and Loudoun Counties are closing two hours early today.
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Enjoy it while it lasts. The snow is expected to end around 7:00 tonight.
Two inches of accumulation is expected.
Winter Weather Advisory in Effect — Expect 1-2 inches of snow today, says the National Weather Service. The flakes should start falling between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. The advisory is in effect until 9:00 p.m. More from Weather.com.
John Boehner Likes Guapo’s — House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) apparently enjoys drowning his sorrows at the Guapo’s in Shirlington. Boehner, who famously called the Bush administration’s immigration reform bill a “piece of s—,” reportedly dined at the Mexican restaurant on Tuesday. It was his second visit in a month, according to Shirlington Village Blogspot,
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The ordinance calls for snow and ice to be removed from sidewalks within 24 to 36 hours of precipitation ending.
The chief means for enforcement of the ordinance will, essentially, be neighbors tattling on each other, via a new web-based reporting form.
According to our friends over at the Capital Weather Gang, Thursday could bring an inch or two, while Sunday could bring “a crippling East Coast snowstorm.” The chance of each happening is still well below 50 percent, but it’s never too early to freak out and start coming up with creative names like we did last year, right?
While you’re at it, be sure to check out the county’s recently-updated snow and ice web portal.
Yesterday a plurality of readers said the program should simply be dismantled. But that seems unlikely, given the county board’s expressed support for the program on Saturday.
Susan Kalish, spokesperson for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, says the county has gotten a “deluge” of snowblower requests this year and will likely be deciding this week whether to purchase additional machines.
County Manager Barbara Donnellan told the board on Saturday that the county has received requests for 50-60 snowblowers so far this winter. Arlington only has about ten snowblowers available to loan to local civic associations.
Faced with that news, the board seemed willing to expand the snowblower loan program, the goal of which is to allow citizens to clear publicly-owned sidewalks in their neighborhoods. The program also allows civic associations to clear sidewalks for elderly or disabled neighbors who aren’t capable of doing so themselves.