Weather

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Wednesday: APS Closed, Feds Delay Opening, ART Service Limited

By ARLnow.com

Snowboarding near Doctors Run on 1/21/14 (photo courtesy @maddogrow)Update at 8:30 a.m. — From the Department of Parks and Recreation:

  • All Enjoy Arlington classes and nature center programs are cancelled in County and school buildings.
  • All sports activities, leagues and instructional programs in County and school buildings are cancelled.
  • All Preschool programs are cancelled.
  • All senior programs (including Walter Reed, Langston Brown and Arlington Mill nutrition sites) are cancelled.
  • Arlington Mill Community Center will open at 10:00 a.m.
  • All other community centers, including the joint use facilities located at Drew, Carver, Gunston, Langston and Thomas Jefferson will open at Noon or as scheduled later in the day.
  • All synthetic fields remain closed on Wednesday.
  • The Powhatan Springs skate park remains closed on Wednesday.

Update at 8:15 a.m. — County government offices and courts will open at 10:00 a.m. From Arlington Alert: “County plows are working around the clock, but road conditions remain slippery. If you must drive, please exercise caution.”

Arlington Public Schools will be closed Wednesday.

All classes, meetings and events at Arlington’s public schools have been cancelled. School offices will open at noon and essential employees are being asked to report to work as scheduled.

The federal government will open on a two hour delay on Wednesday.

“Employees should plan to arrive for work no more than 2 hours later than they would be expected to arrive,” said the Office of Personnel Management. “Emergency Employees are expected to report to their worksite on time unless otherwise directed by their agencies.”

ART bus service will be limited Wednesday morning “due to icy street conditions.” Arlington Transit said in an email. Only ART routes 41, 51 and 77 will be operating, and those routes are subject to the transit agency’s severe weather policy.

“More routes will be added later in the day as conditions permit,” ART said.

A wind chill advisory is in effect through noon on Wednesday. Forecasters are warning of dangerous sub-zero wind chills.

… WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON EST WEDNESDAY… … WINTER STORM WARNING IS CANCELLED…

* WIND CHILL… BETWEEN 5 AND 15 DEGREES BELOW ZERO TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* TEMPERATURES… FALLING INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS TONIGHT. HIGH TEMPERATURES WEDNESDAY WILL BE IN THE TEENS.

* WINDS… NORTH 10 TO 20 MPH… BECOMING NORTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* IMPACTS… DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILLS TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING MAY LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA OR FROST BITE ON EXPOSED SKIN.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE LOW WIND CHILLS. THIS WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. IF YOU MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS… MAKE SURE YOU WEAR A HAT AND GLOVES.

Photo courtesy @maddogrow

Roads Become Covered As Snowstorm Ramps Up

By ARLnow.com
1/10

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) Road conditions around Arlington are bad and are only expected to get worse as today’s snowstorm increases in intensity around rush hour.

Numerous crashes, involving cars, postal vehicles and buses, have been reported on Arlington’s roads and highways this afternoon. Other vehicles are getting stuck or spinning out of control on snow-covered hills. Sections of George Mason Drive and Carlin Springs Road are particularly treacherous, we hear.

ART buses are operating under a Severe Weather Policy, with limited service for ART 41, 51 and 77 routes and all other routes cancelled.

Via Twitter, Arlington residents report 1.5 to 3 inches of snow on the ground so far, with higher amounts generally to the north. The National Weather Service says 6-10 inches of snow will fall by the time the flakes tapers off tonight.

In addition to the snow, frigid temperatures and high winds are expected to bring additional wintry misery tonight. The predicted -5 to -15 degree wind chills prompted a plea from Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D).

“I urge every Virginian to make proper preparations as this storm moves in and brings snow, potentially life-threatening low temperatures and high winds,” Gov. McAuliffe said in a statement. “Unfortunately, injuries and even deaths from hypothermia, heart attack, stroke and traffic crashes are all too common during the winter storms of this type. Don’t travel unnecessarily, and be prepared to stay where you are until conditions improve.”

UPDATED: County Facilities Closing at Noon

By ARLnow.com

Snow in Pentagon City on 1/21/14

(Updated at 11:25 a.m.) Arlington County government offices, facilities, public schools, pools, community centers and courts are closing at noon today due to the winter storm currently bearing down on the area.

All afternoon and evening activities at Arlington public schools  have been canceled.

The county says it’s in a “Phase 2 Alert” for snow removal. Crews are ready to treat and plow primary and secondary roads that may become snow-covered.

Trash collection has been suspended for the remainder of the day.

“Trash and recycling services have been suspended for Tuesday, Jan. 21 due to winter weather,” said Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services. “Please remove your carts from the curb for the safety and efficiency of our snow plows and crews.”

The City of Falls Church has declared a snow emergency and is ordering residents to remove cars on snow emergency routes or face towing and fines. Arlington so far has not declared a snow emergency.

Feds Close, County Gov’t Remains Open

By ARLnow.com

Snowy branchesFederal offices in the D.C. area are closed today due to the expected snow storm.

Non-emergency federal employees will have the day off, unless their office requires them to telework.

“Telework-Ready Employees who are scheduled to perform telework on the effective day of the announcement or who are required to perform telework on a day when Federal offices are closed must telework the entire workday or request leave, or a combination of both, in accordance with their agency’s policies and procedures, subject to any applicable collective bargaining requirements,” according to the Office of Personnel Management.

Arlington County government offices and courts, meanwhile, are open today.

All Arlington public schools are closed, but community centers and pools remain open. All evening activities are canceled. Essential APS employees must report to work but teachers are being asked to work from home and other employees are being allowed to telework.

ART bus service, like Metro service, will be running on a normal schedule this morning but may reduce service levels as weather conditions dictate.

Arlington’s Emergency Winter Shelter will remain open throughout the day today due to falling temperatures and the expected snowfall.

County, State Crews Preparing for Winter Storm

By ARLnow.com

Road salt being loaded onto a salt truck at the VDOT facility on Columbia PikeRoad crews from Arlington County and VDOT have been out in force today pre-treating roads in anticipation of tomorrow’s winter storm.

With 4-8 inches of snow likely, Arlington County says its crews are in a “Phase 1 alert” and are “prepped and ready to go.”

“We called in a team today to hook up our trucks with chains, spreaders and plows,” said Shannon Whalen McDaniel, spokeswoman for Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services. “We will also brine the roads throughout the night in preparation.”

VDOT, meanwhile, said “crews are pre-treating roads aggressively throughout Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Arlington counties today.”

“Crews will be out in force overnight and through the duration of the storm, treating icy roads and plowing snow,” VDOT said in a press release. “While VDOT is in full preparation mode, motorists are urged to make sure their vehicles are in proper driving condition for winter weather and have emergency kits. During the storm, motorists should avoid driving on the roads.”

WMATA says it will start the Tuesday on a normal weekday Metrorail and bus schedule, but may reduce rail service and suspend bus service later in the day as conditions deteriorate. MetroAccess service has been suspended for all of Tuesday.

“For your safety, travel only if necessary,” Metro said in an advisory. “If you must travel, plan to arrive at your destination before the worst of the storm, and be prepared to remain there until the storm passes. Check wmata.com before starting your trip or sign up for MetroAlerts to receive updated service information by email or text message.”

UPDATED: NWS Says 4-8 Inches of Snow Likely

By ARLnow.com

Snowball fight in front of the Clarendon Metro station on Feb. 6, 2010

(Updated at 10:40 p.m.) The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for Arlington the rest of the D.C. area this afternoon.

As of Monday night, forecasters are saying that 4-8 inches of snow is likely on Tuesday, with the heaviest snow falling around the evening rush hour.

Arlington Public Schools will be closed tomorrow due to a scheduled teacher work day. Alexandria and Fairfax County schools, among other local school systems, have announced that they will be closed Tuesday due to the snow.

From NWS:

… WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM TO 11 PM EST TUESDAY…

* PRECIPITATION TYPE… SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS… 4 TO 8 INCHES… WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.

* TIMING… SNOW WILL DEVELOP BETWEEN 7 AM AND 10 AM TUESDAY MORNING. THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS EXPECTED DURING THE MIDDAY AND AFTERNOON HOURS. SNOW WILL TAPER OFF TUESDAY EVENING.

* TEMPERATURES… IN THE 20S WHEN SNOW BEGINS TUESDAY MORNING… THEN FALLING INTO THE TEENS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WIND CHILL VALUES WILL BE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS TUESDAY AFTERNOON… FALLING TO AROUND 10 BELOW ZERO TUESDAY EVENING.

* WINDS… NORTHEAST 5 TO 10 MPH… INCREASING TO 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 30 MPH TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

* IMPACTS… ROADS WILL BE SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY. THE COMBINATION OF SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL REDUCE VISIBILITY TO BELOW ONE-HALF MILE AT TIMES. TRAVELING WILL BECOME DANGEROUS TUESDAY. THE MORNING COMMUTE MAY BE IMPACTED BY THE SNOW… AND SIGNIFICANT IMPACT IS EXPECTED FOR THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING COMMUTE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL… KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT… FOOD… AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

Flood Watch Issued for Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Arlington and much of the D.C. area will be under a Flood Watch on Saturday as the region prepares for a soaking.

The National Weather Service says 1-2 inches of rain are expected, raising the possibility of localized flooding.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A FLOOD WATCH

* FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING

* MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WILL AFFECT THE WATCH AREA DURING THE DAY ON SATURDAY. TOTAL RAINFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES IS EXPECTED… WITH ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. THE HEAVIEST RAIN WILL OCCUR ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THIS HEAVY RAIN WILL COMBINE WITH COLD AND WET SOILS TO ELEVATE THE THREAT OF FLOODING.

* STREAMS AND CREEKS MAY OVERFLOW THEIR BANKS AS A RESULT OF RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL. URBAN AREAS… ESPECIALLY WHERE PRONE TO POOR DRAINAGE… WILL BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO MINOR FLOODING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING BASED ON CURRENT FORECASTS.

YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE FLOOD WARNINGS. THOSE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO FLOODING SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLOODING DEVELOP.

Freezing Rain Advisory Issued

By ARLnow.com

The National Weather Service has issued a Freezing Rain Advisory for Arlington and the surrounding region.

Forecasters say a period of freezing rain is likely Friday morning. That could make for a hazardous morning commute. From NWS:

…FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 9 AM EST FRIDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON HAS ISSUED A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 9 AM EST FRIDAY.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE…FREEZING RAIN.

* ACCUMULATIONS…LESS THAN A TENTH INCH.

* TIMING…BEGINNING PREDAWN…ENDING BY MID MORNING.

* TEMPERATURES…AROUND 30.

* WINDS…NORTH 5 MPH OR LESS.

* IMPACTS…UNTREATED SURFACES WILL BE ICY AND SLIPPERY… PARTICULARLY DURING THE MORNING COMMUTE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF FREEZING RAIN OR FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS. SLOW DOWN AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

Ballston Movie Theater, Doorways Home Closed Due to Flooding

By ARLnow.com

Ballston Regal theater closed due to flooding Ballston Regal theater closed due to flooding

Update at 8:45 p.m. — First Down Sports Bar and Grill had to shut down tonight, also due to a burst water pipe. From the businesses’ Facebook page: “We have had to close down suddenly for tonight because of a water pipe burst. Hopefully, we’ll be back up and running tomorrow. We will have an update on here as soon as we figure it out. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

Update at 8:35 p.m. — Tonight’s Arlington County Democratic Committee debate for County Board candidates was briefly evacuated tonight when a reported burst pipe triggered the fire alarm in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association building.

(Updated at 11:40 p.m.) The Regal Ballston Common 12 theater was closed tonight due to flooding from ruptured water pipes.

Three pipes burst this afternoon, sending water spilling across several floors of the theater, we’re told. A clean-up is underway and the theater is hoping to reopen tomorrow (Thursday).

The water also impacted elevators in the mall building.

“Please be advised this afternoon, the sprinkler pipe broke in the Ballston Mall movie theatre and water is going into the freight elevator,” said a memo sent to workers in the offices above the mall. “As of right now, all elevators are out of service.”

Burst water pipes have plagued homes and businesses across Arlington this week, as temperatures dipped into the teens and single digits. The Trader Joe’s store in Clarendon reopened this morning after a burst water pipe last night. Also last night, the Doorways Family Home in North Arlington, which houses homeless families and victims of domestic violence, was closed when “a sprinkler head in a second floor ceiling burst due to freezing conditions” and flooded the floors down to the basement.

The women and children who were in the home were evacuated to hotels. Restoration crews worked today to make the house habitable again.

Cold Weather Causing Stress on Power Grid

By Katie Pyzyk

Thermostat(Updated at 2:55 p.m.) The cold temperatures have a lot of people cranking up the heat, but that’s putting stress on the region’s power grid. Dominion Power is asking customers to reduce any unnecessary use of electricity and alter the hours for major appliance use.

Dominion is one of the power providers in the 13 states and District of Columbia that use the PJM Interconnect power grid. PJM informed all of its clients that the power grid is currently under stress because of the increase in electric heat use due to the frigid temperatures. It’s asking customers to help conserve energy.

“We are asking customers to consider altering their normal pattern of power usage to mitigate the draw that is on the electrical grid right now,” said Dominion Power spokesman Chuck Penn. “We are confident today, as we were yesterday, that we have sufficient power capacity to meet the demand, there are just some steps utilities are asking customers to take to ease the load. We are just responding to the request from PJM Interconnect.”

Customers are asked to avoid using major appliances — such as stoves, dishwashers and clothes dryers — during the peak morning hours of 6:00-9:00 a.m. and the peak evening hours of 3:00-7:00 p.m. Customers are asked to lower their thermostats to between 65 and 70 degrees during the day in order to conserve energy. Dominion has additional energy saving tips on its website.

Arlington’s Emergency Winter Shelter in Courthouse (2049 15th Street N.) opened for around-the-clock services on Monday and will stay open, as a wind chill advisory remains in effect until 6:00 p.m. The shelter has been used by 75 people during the cold snap, and another 10 were provided with cots and blankets in the lobby of the nearby Detention Center. On Tuesday afternoon, DHS made the decision to keep the shelter open continuously on Wednesday as well.

“The good thing about this cold snap is that we had plenty of advance warning so we were able to let people know they needed to get off the streets and come inside,” said Department of Human Services spokesman Kurt Larrick. “A-SPAN did a great job of letting unsheltered homeless people in the community know that it was going to get really, really cold, and that we would have a warm bed for them.”

APS to Open Two Hours Late Tuesday

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Public Schools will open on a two hour delay Tuesday morning due to the extreme cold.

APS sent the following email to families Monday evening.

Dear APS Families:

The National Weather Service (NWS) is warning of possible high winds and low wind chill temperatures across parts of Northern Virginia today through Tuesday night.  As a result, Arlington Public Schools will open two hours late on Tuesday, January 7. The Extended Day Program will also open two hours late, and morning field trips will be cancelled. The Community Centers located in schools and the Pools will open at their regular times.

The Arlington County Department of Public Health encourages everyone to protect themselves against serious health problems that can result from prolonged exposure to the cold. When exposed to cold temperatures, your body begins to lose heat faster than it can be produced, causing cold-weather health problems such as frostbite and hypothermia.

What can you do?

  • Wear cold weather appropriate clothing like gloves/mittens, hats, scarves and snow boots. Dress in several layers of loose-fitting clothing and cover your face and mouth if possible.
  • Be aware of the wind chill factor. Wind can cause body-heat loss.
  • Stay dry, and if you become wet, remove any wet clothing immediately.
  • Limit your time outdoors.
  • Do not ignore shivering. It’s an important first sign that the body is losing heat. Persistent shivering is a signal to return indoors.

Additional information on dealing with extreme cold is available from the Arlington County Public Health Department webpage at http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/HumanServices/PublicHealth/page91183.aspx; from the Virginia Department of Health at http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/weather/ColdWeatherSafety.htm; and from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/guide.asp.

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