snow

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington to Hold Online Snow Chat — Dave Hundelt, Arlington County’s Streets Manager, will be answering questions about snow removal online today (Thursday). The discussion is scheduled from noon to 1:00 p.m. [Facebook]

Metrobus Driver Arrested at Pentagon — A Metrobus driver was arrested by U.S. Marshals at the Pentagon Wednesday morning. The driver, of the 9E Pentagon-Huntington line bus, was wanted in connection with a 2010 murder. [Washington Examiner]

Joe Allbritton Dies — Joe L. Allbritton, owner of Arlington-based WJLA (ABC 7), NewsChannel 8 and Politico, has died. Allbrittion, whose initials are the call letters of WJLA, was 87. [Politico]

Arlington Ranks Sixth in Household Income — Arlington County had a median household income of $98,060 in 2011, which was 5.1 percent higher than a year prior, according to new census figures. Arlington’s 2011 median income is the sixth-highest of all counties in the United States. [Sun Gazette]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

‘Concentration of Poverty’ at APS? — Some parents say Arlington Public Schools have designed school boundaries to concentrate lower-income students in south Arlington schools. At least one parent is hoping the school system creates a rule in which “no school would be able deviate from the district-wide percentage of poverty by more or less than 10 points.” [WAMU]

District Taco Expanding — District Taco, which opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Arlington, is continuing to expand in the District. The restaurant has signed a lease and will be opening a second D.C. location on Capitol Hill. [Washington Post]

Snow in the Forecast Today — Forecasters say there’s a roughly 30 percent chance Arlington could see around 1 inch of snow tonight. If not accumulating snow, there’s about a 60 percent chance of seeing a few snowflakes. [Capital Weather Gang]

Fire at Crystal Plaza Apartments — Updated at 10:05 a.m. — A small laundry room fire broke out in the basement of the Crystal Plaza apartments (2111 Jefferson Davis Hwy) in Crystal City this morning. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze and are now working to clear a significant amount of smoke from the building.

County Prepping for Possible Snow on Sunday

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 2:05 p.m.) Here we go again. Right in the midst of a stretch of mild weather, we’re bracing for the possibility of snow this weekend.

Forecasters have been predicting some sort of precipitation on Sunday, but it’s unclear whether it will be mainly snow or rain. As is often the case in our area, weather models are changing by the hour. Don’t get your hopes up for a repeat of the Presidents Day Blizzard of 2003 — but do plan on the chance of the season’s most significant snowfall.

In advance of the possible storm, the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services has issued a Phase 1 Alert, meaning crews will pre-treat roads with salt or brine as necessary. They’re also preparing snow removal equipment and personnel for the weekend.

Dominion Virginia Power also reports making preparations. Trucks are being stocked and fueled, and crews are ready to respond to outages. Customers can call 1-866-DOM-HELP to report outages and downed lines.

County Road Crews Prepare for Snowy Commute

By ARLnow.com

With snow expected during tonight’s evening commute, Arlington County road crews have been placed on alert and are poised to treat roads when the white stuff starts falling.

Crews are also pre-treating roads with salt and brine this afternoon in preparation for the winter weather, according to the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services.

The Office of Personnel Management announced this morning that federal employees may use unscheduled leave to go home early today, if desired.

File photo

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Snowy Evening Commute Expected — Forecasters warn that light-to-moderate snowfall may make for a slick evening commute tonight. Still, above-freezing temperatures will mean that we in Arlington will likely see less than an inch of accumulation. [Capital Weather Gang]

County Saves Money Through Bond Issue — Arlington County has taken advantage of very low interest rates, along with its triple-AAA bond rating, to issue $106 million of refunding bonds. The move will save the county more than $9 million over the life of the bonds, officials say. [Arlington County]

Spring Soccer Registration Open — Registration is now open for youth soccer players in Arlington. Arlington Soccer Association’s spring registration started on Jan. 25 and will close on March 13. A late registration fee will be assessed after March 13. [Arlington Soccer Association]

Moran Criticized for TV Appearance — Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) is facing criticism from Republicans for comments he made on MSNBC last week. Moran said that Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), who is black, “is not representative of the African American community.” Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin called that remark and others by Moran during the course of the MSNBC interview “racist.” [Human Events, Breitbart.tv]

Arlington Bracing for Winter Weather Tonight

By ARLnow.com

The D.C. area is under a Winter Weather Advisory tonight as an approaching storm is expected to drop snow, sleet and freezing rain on the region.

Forecasters say the precipitation will begin around 11:00 tonight, starting off as snow and sleet before transitioning to freezing rain overnight. The weather event is expected to end as plain rain around 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. Locally, snow and sleet accumulation could total up to an inch, with up to 1/10 inch of freezing rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Arlington County crews are preparing for the winter weather by pre-treating main roads with salt brine (see photo) to guard against icy conditions. Still, the county is asking residents to avoid unnecessary car trips during the storm.

“Team members and their equipment will be on standby overnight and will remain so until the weather event turns to full rain,” said  Arlington Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel. “Residents are encouraged to stay off the roads due to the potential for hazardous conditions.”

Photo courtesy Arlington DES

Spotted: Snowman on Prospect Hill

By ARLnow.com

Last night’s inch or so of snow accumulation was just enough for some industrious individuals to use to build a snowman on Prospect Hill, near Pentagon City.

With his Prospect Hill Park home overlooking the Pentagon and Air Force Memorial, the snowman will be able to take in some great views before he melts amid today’s mild temperatures, which are expected to reach the mid-50s.

Courtesy photo

Spotted: Snow Flurries in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 1:45 p.m.) Normally, a few non-accumulating snow flurries in mid-January wouldn’t be the least bit notable. But given the anemic winter we’ve had thus far, we thought the brief bout of snow activity spotted around Arlington this afternoon was worth a mention.

Forecasters say the flakes could last a couple more hours, and could create a light coating on grassy areas, especially for points south of Arlington.

Don’t expect a triumphant return of winter weather just yet, however. High temperatures are expect to head back up to the mid-50’s by mid-week.

Merry Christmas from ARLnow.com

By ARLnow.com

ARLnow.com wishes you and yours a very merry Christmas. Since it couldn’t be a white Christmas this year, we decided to remind everybody of what Arlington looks like under a foot or two of freshly-fallen snow. The photo above was taken on Feb. 6, 2010, during the famous “Snowmaggedon” snow storm.

ARLnow.com will return for regularly-scheduled news updates on Tuesday.

County Debuts New Winter Weather Web Portal

By ARLnow.com

With talk of some snowflakes in the forecast tonight, Arlington County picked a good day to debut a new web portal called “Arlington Snow and Ice Central.”

The website offers one-stop shopping for residents seeking more information on winter weather preparations, winter weather safety tips, road condition and snow plowing updates, and answers to snow removal ordinance questions. The site also links to the county’s snow issue reporting page.

One of the new features introduced with the new portal is a “snow phase system,” which will designate how far along the county is in its snow clearing efforts after a storm. The page will indicate whether the county is in Phase 1, 2, 3, or 4.

Phase 1 is the “Alert” phase, when snow crews are pre-treating roads and residents are being encouraged to park their cars off-street, if possible.

Phase 2 is the “Primary Routes” phase, when the storm is in progress or has just concluded. In this phase, county and VDOT crews are working to clear primary and secondary roads only. Residents are encouraged to stay off the roads and help clear sidewalks during this phase.

Phase 3 is the “Residential Streets” phase, when crews are working to make residential streets passable while widening the clear path on primary roads.

Phase 4, the “Clean Up” phase, is when crews will focus on removing ice and slush from roads while using the sun as a tool for melting leftover snow.

Arlington County said it’s ready to respond should winter weather strike.

“When forecasters predict winter weather — snow, ice or freezing rain — Arlington’s plows and salt trucks are prepped and ready to go,” the county said in a press release. “Residents, at any time, can check the storm’s progress, track the County’s efforts to clear streets of snow, and learn how to best prepare for the winter weather. The current phase will be posted on the County web site and social media channels.”

Crews Prepare for Possible October Snowfall

By Katie Pyzyk

The “S” word has been on the lips of many in the metro area this week. That’s right, much to the chagrin of many residents, there’s a slight chance we’ll get a rare October snowfall.

Coincidentally, Arlington County started its annual snow training this week. Workers have been hooking up trucks, doing some trial runs and making sure all equipment is ready for the season.

Water, Sewer and Streets Bureau Chief Operating Engineer Dave Hundelt said, “Conveniently we get a random forecast for flurries or light rain/snow and overnight temps right near freezing for this weekend.”

Hundelt says Arlington doesn’t plan on mobilizing its plow or salting teams this weekend because the pavement temperatures will remain well above freezing. That prevents any precipitation from sticking to the ground or causing major driving issues. However, if the forecast changes and conditions worsen, crews could be expected to mobilize.

Currently, Arlington is not included in the winter storm watches or warnings issued by the National Weather Service for many surrounding counties. Although that could change, right now there is only a chance for a light snow shower or a rain/snow mix around here. Due to the uncertainty of the storm, most weather experts are putting the chances of snow on Saturday around 50-50.

Fall snowstorms are worrisome because trees haven’t yet shed all their leaves, making the branches heavy and susceptible to snapping off as a result of accumulation. This traditionally makes autumn snow more dangerous than winter storms.

The last time the metro area experienced a significant snowstorm in October was back on October 10, 1979.

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