After missing a week of classes due to Snowmageddon and Snoverkill, Arlington public school students will have to make up for it by giving up a couple of previously-scheduled off-days and early release days.
“Of course I was hoping school would extend into August so I could save on summer camp fees,” Robert Cannon said on his bArlington blog.
U.S. Park Police have released a series of beautiful photos showing the aftermath of this weekend’s snow storm. The photos were taken by Rescue Technician/Paramedic Sergeant Klebaner while on-board Park Police Helicopter Eagle 1 on Sunday. The chopper was making surveillance runs over some of the harder-to-get areas patrolled by the Park Police.
Among the photos are views of Reagan National Airport and Arlington National Cemetery.
The county says its snow removal crews are beginning to tackle neighborhood roads.
“Our crews are still working round-the-clock clearing massive amounts of snow from County-maintained roads,” Acting County Manager Barbara Donnellan said in a press release. “We are throwing everything we have into this effort, and have stabilized main roads and secondary roads throughout the County. Crews are beginning to work their way into the neighborhoods. We thank residents for their patience and understanding.”
Statewide, Virginia State Police responded to calls for 1,713 traffic accidents and 1,699 stranded vehicle. According to the Washington Post:
The state police’s Fairfax Division alone responded to 681 calls for service, including 435 disabled vehicles and 121 traffic crashes.
It’s amazing how a snow storm that was greeted with such dread, and which prompted calls to “shelter in place,” could actually inspire a greater sense of community. Rather than sheltering in place, many people decided to have fun together outside.
Young and old went sledding on streets and in parks. People could be seen carrying snowboards, wakeboards and cross-country skis. Dog owners were out in force. Footballs were being thrown around.
Arlington County snow crews continue to work around the clock, focusing their efforts on main roads and emergency routes. The county says crews will not reach most neighborhood roads until Monday.
Here’s a list of safety guidelines from the county’s press release.
Arlington Police and Fire personnel have been busy all day responding to calls of trees down, wires down, trees and branches on wires, trees catching fire due to lines falling on them, wires and trees blocking roads, and combinations thereof. There have been at least 16 such calls in the past two hours.
In some cases first responders have been able to clear trees from the road by themselves. In cases where wires are down or branches are leaning on wires, all firefighters can do at this point is block off the area and add the incident to Dominion’s long to-do list.
ART bus service has been suspended for the day due to weather. Above-ground Metrorail and bus service also remains suspended.
The Crystal Couture show has been canceled for tonight. Classes have been canceled at Northern Virginia Community College. Pentagon City mall is closed and will reopen Sunday at 11:00 AM.
Arlington County is continuing its plea for drivers to stay off the roads. Police have been responding to reports of cars and trucks stranded in the road, blocking plows.
Crews are still out trying to keep main roads passable for emergency vehicles. Secondary roads will not be treated until well after the snow stops, except in instances where emergency vehicles need assistance getting to a call.
Wind gusts in excess of 30 miles per hour are currently being recorded at Reagan National Airport. Along with the wind have come reports of downed trees and downed power lines. At least one tree was reported to have caught on fire after falling on live wires.
As of 3:00 AM, Dominion Power was reporting 44,849 outages throughout Northern Virginia. Several hundred of those outages were in Arlington.
