It’s been tough sledding, so to speak, for Arlington snow crews this week.
With the help of some milder temperatures, crews have nearly completed their snow removal effort following Monday’s winter storm. But with another storm looming tonight, threatening another 2-4 inches of snow, there will not be time to rest.
More snow is on the way.
The National Weather Service just issued a Winter Weather Advisory, saying 2-4 inches of accumulation is likely between Thursday night and Friday morning.
For the first time in nearly three years, Arlington experienced a significant snowfall.
Starting very early yesterday morning and finally tapering off in afternoon, preliminary estimates suggest that the county got close to seven inches of snow.
Update at 3:15 p.m. — Both Arlington County and VDOT say snow crews are preparing for the storm.
“Throughout overnight hours, crews and about 2,200 trucks will be staged and ready to treat roads and plow snow where needed,” VDOT said Sunday afternoon. “Crews will begin to plow once two inches of snow have accumulated.”
‘Innovation Studio’ Planned at HQ2 — “Amazon Web Services will open a new AWS Innovation Studio to collaborate on global solutions that leverage its cloud computing technologies to address issues such as housing insecurity, social justice, climate change, sustainability and health and education inequality. A first for AWS, the studio will launch at Amazon’s new HQ2 headquarters under construction in Arlington, Va.” [CRN]
First Responders Honor Fallen Marine — “ACPD and @ArlingtonVaFD paid our respects to USMC Sgt. Nicole Gee, who was tragically killed in action in Kabul, as her procession traveled through Arlington this evening. May we never forget her service and sacrifice.” [Twitter, Twitter]
Police Make Numerous DUI Arrests — From the Arlington County Police Department: “ACPD Officers are committed to making our roadways safer by identifying, stopping, and apprehending impaired drivers. Last week (September 12 – 18), officers made 16 arrests for Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Motorists are reminded that it is never okay to drink and drive.” [Twitter]
ACPD Warning of Tainted Cocaine — “Please take steps to protect yourself and others who may be in possession of cocaine purchased in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The nasal spray Narcan (also known as Naloxone) can save the life of someone who is overdosing from substances containing opioids, if given in time, and test strips can detect dangerous fentanyl-laced drugs before they are used.” [Arlington County]
Storm Damage Closes Covid Testing Booth — From Arlington County: “The Curative testing kiosk at Virginia Highlands will be closed today and tomorrow (Sept. 20 & 21) as it repairs storm damage. Visit our other kiosks at Arlington Mill Community Center and Court House Plaza.” [Twitter]
Frank O’Leary Pushing for Museum Funding — “Now, in retirement, the former Arlington treasurer is equally unfiltered, when it comes to issues dear to his heart. And few, at the moment, are more dear to O’Leary than the effort to obtain the county government’s participation in funding renovation and expansion of the Arlington Historical Society’s Hume School museum. ‘It is time for our local government to step forward. Every local government in Northern Virginia – except Arlington – has fully funded one or more local museums,’ he said.” [Sun Gazette]
(Updated at 9:25 p.m.) Arlington County and the immediate D.C. area, as well as points north, are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch tonight.
The watch is in effect until midnight. Forecasters say an approaching cold front will bring storms and potentially damaging winds to the area over the next few hours. Heavy rain and hail are also expected.
About 1,500 homes and businesses are without power in Arlington after heavy rain and some gusty winds from Hurricane Ida’s remnants.
Most of the outages are in neighborhoods along and north of Route 29, including Cherrydale, Maywood and Donaldson Run. Dominion reports about 1,350 in the area.
So far Arlington has dodged the worst of Hurricane Ida’s remnants this afternoon, but the storm system is still having some local impacts.
With a Flash Flood Watch and a Tornado Watch still in effect, Arlington Public Schools cancelled all afternoon and evening activities on school grounds.
(Updated at 11:50 a.m.) If the early morning lightning storm didn’t wake you up, congratulations: you’re either an exceptionally deep sleeper or have some very high quality windows.
A supercell thunderstorm spawned ahead of the remnants of Hurricane Ida brought exceptionally frequent lightning and thunder to the area between 3-4 a.m. The light show and the loud booms awakened numerous local residents, not to mention their dogs and kids.
(Updated at noon) The remnants of Hurricane Ida are heading our way, and forecasters are already warning of potential flooding.
Ida has ravaged portions of Louisiana and Mississippi since making landfall as a Category 4 storm Sunday afternoon. It knocked out power to more than a million homes and businesses, including the entire city of New Orleans; interrupted 911 service; and caused catastrophic flooding, prompting numerous water rescues.
