For DC, late tonight until midday Wednesday. Travel may become hazardous.
Tag Archives: Weather
Tips on clearing out after snowstorm
You may be clearing your driveway before the plow reaches your street. Push snow to the right, so plows won’t cover your work. (Robert Thomson/The Washington Post)
Most people in the D.C. region will begin their post-storm travels as pedestrians, whether they like it or not. Here are some tips for getting around.
Clearing sidewalks. Rules vary, but most jurisdictions expect property owners to get out within a certain number of hours and clear their sidewalks. The District, for example, has a rule that sidewalks should be cleared of snow and ice within eight hours after the end of a storm. They don’t expect you to throw the snow in the street. When clearing driveways, toss the snow to the right. That makes it less likely the plow will push that snow back across the driveway entrance.
When clearing your own sidewalk, think about neighbors who may be elderly or disabled, and save a little energy for their walkways.
Metro doesn’t clear the bus stops or the areas around them. Metro does clear areas around rail station entrances and the above-ground platforms. Some platforms have a new type of paving tile that is less slippery, but some still have the original, slip-prone paving tiles.
Before starting to clear snow, try using Pam or car wax on the shovel blade, so the snow will slide off more easily. With a heavy snow like this, give your back a break by skimming off a top layer first, then making a second scoop down to the pavement. Think twice about parking in a street space your neighbor just cleared out. That probably won’t end well.
If you are driving, be extra careful of pedestrians. They’re more likely to be walking in the streets in the immediate aftermath of a storm.
Highway departments generally don’t clear bike paths.
Clearing streets. Much of the clearing work goes to contractors, whose trucks might not bear the emblem of the agency that hired them. The D.C. departments of public works and transportation team up on street clearing in the city. The Virginia Department of Transportation takes care of interstates, main roads and neighborhood streets within its turf. The Maryland State Highway Administration handles the state’s numbered roads, while counties and municipalities take care of the rest.
Highways in the D.C. area are in much better shape as of 10:45 a.m. than they were at dawn, but road surface conditions vary a lot across the region. Many drivers will have difficulty getting out of their neighborhoods. The initial goal for the plows working the neighborhood streets is to make them “passable.” That doesn’t mean you’ll see bare pavement soon.
If you are planning to drive to an airport in the D.C. area, be sure to check on your flight first. Many Thursday flights from Dulles, Reagan National and BWI airports have been cancelled.
Snow emergency routes. Some jurisdictions require owners to get their vehicles off snow emergency routes after the jurisdiction declares an emergency. This affects many District residents, where the Public Works Department tows vehicles remaining on those routes and imposes stiff fines.
Waiting for transit. Most of the D.C. region’s bus systems suspended service for Thursday morning. So did MetroAccess, the paratransit service. Watch for updates on restoration. This is the link to The Post’s storm updates. Metrobus’s Next Bus system, designed to provide real-time information on when the bus should arrive at your stop, doesn’t perform well during weather disruptions. So even as bus service is restored, don’t count on the accuracy of the prediction system.
Red Line Alert!
Red Line: Trains are single tracking btwn Wheaton & Forest Glen due to a disabled train at Wheaton. Expect delays in both directions.
Weather Closings and Delays
Groundhog’s forecast comes in depths of bitter winter
Punxsutawney Phil is set to make his famous groundhog forecast early Sunday, and after a winter like this one, more folks than usual may be hoping he doesn’t see his shadow.
The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club expects about 20,000 people on hand for the event, executive director Katie Donald told The Associated Press. This is the first year that Groundhog Day coincides with the Super Bowl.
Update:
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. — Punxsutawney Phil, most famous groundhog in history, emerged from his burrow early Sunday morning and with the help of his handlers declared that he saw his shadow.
The Groundhog Day prediction means six more weeks of winter.
Phil made his weather prediction just before 7:30 a.m. in front of thousands of onlookers at Gobbler’s Knob in the tiny western Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
The Groundhog Day celebration is rooted in a German superstition that says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early.
Phil has not seen his shadow just 17 times since 1886, according to incomplete records kept by the Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle, which is responsible for caring for the groundhog and putting on the annual ceremony.
Last year, Phil did not see his shadow.
The accuracy of the groundhog’s predictions, however, has long been debated.
Interest in the holiday has soared in the last two decades thanks largely to the 1993 Bill Murray comedy “Groundhog Day,” in which a weatherman becomes trapped reliving the holiday again and again.
Crowds at the event have grown from a few thousand before the movie came out to tens of thousands after.
Winter Storm Watch
The National Weather Service has issued a WINTER STORM WATCH for Montgomery County from Sunday night through Monday. Snowfall of 5 inches or more is possible.
Residents should begin Winter Storm preparations which should consider the potential of significant snow accumulations within the next 48 hours. Please remain alert for the issuance of additional Warnings.
A winter storm watch is issued when there is the potential for significant snowfall and hazardous winter weather within 48 hours.
Red Line Alert!!
Red Line update: Expect delays up to 20 min due to ongoing track inspections following earlier disabled trains.
Red Line Alert!
Red Line: Expect delays in both directions due to a switch problem at Fort Totten
Still freezing
Another day of single digit weather.
Can’t wait for Spring. This is crazy!
Weather causes road problems, school and flight delays
Light snowfall in the D.C. region overnight created challenges for commuters Wednesday morning, as some schools closed and others announced delayed openings, airlines canceled flights and police closed a usually busy ramp onto the southbound lanes of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway because of downed wires in the roadway.
U.S. Park Police said the wires toppled overnight onto the ramp that leads to the parkway from Route 193 in Greenbelt. They are not sure when the ramp will re-open, as they are waiting on a repair crew.
Police warned drivers throughout the region to use caution because some roads are slick and icy.
Metro had troubles on four of its five lines Wednesday morning due to the extreme cold weather.
VRE sent an email alert Wednesday morning to its passengers warning that power is out at its stop at the L’Enfant Station at 6th and C streets SW. VRE officials said riders should use caution when getting on and off trains because the platforms are dark.
Schools are closed in Prince William, Stafford and Culpeper counties. Schools in Fairfax, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard, Frederick and Arlington counties, and in Alexandria, are opening two hours late.
Air travel has been affected by the latest round of snowfall. About 250 flights across the country were delayed and another 950 were canceled as a result of the winter weather, according to FlightAware.
Eighteen flights were canceled at Ronald Reagan National Airport. Another 15 were canceled at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and four were canceled at Washington Dulles International.
For more transportation-related stories, click here. For updates on the Washington weather forecast, go to the Washington post’s Capital Weather Gang.