snow

Storm Leaves Frozen Glaze, But Traffic Improved

By ARLnow.com

Last night’s sleet and snow seems to have pulled off the trick of actually improving traffic.

Right now it’s clear sailing in Arlington on I-395, I-66, Route 1, Route 50 and Columbia Pike. Traffic volume has remained light and no major problems are reported.

Many side streets are still covered in a thin frozen glaze, but are passable.

The storm, which left less than an inch of accumulation, prompted Arlington Public Schools to open on a two-hour delay. The county and federal governments are open with an option for unscheduled leave or telework.

Winter Weather Advisory Issued As Temperatures Drop

By ARLnow.com

Update at 4:20 p.m. — Crews are now planning on treating Arlington’s roads starting at some point between 9:00 and 10:00 tonight, as rain changes to sleet. Officials say commuters should expect wet main roads and slushy side roads in time for the morning rush. The warmth over the past couple of days means that road temperatures are well above freezing, which should help to melt some of the accumulation, officials say.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory as a storm closes in on the Washington area. Local accumulations of 2-5 inches are expected as rain changes over to sleet and snow overnight.

An Arlington County official tells ARLnow.com that crews are preparing for a “light snow” event. So far, there is no plan in place to pre-treat roads. The response may be upgraded now that the advisory has been issued.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 AM EST TUESDAY.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE… WINTRY MIX OF RAIN AND SLEET CHANGING OVER TO SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS… 2 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW AND SLEET.

* TIMING… A MIX OF RAIN AND SLEET WILL BEGIN LATE THIS EVENING… THEN CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW AROUND MIDNIGHT… AND CONTINUE THROUGH DAWN. HEAVIEST SNOWFALL WILL BE BETWEEN 1 AM AND 4 AM.

* TEMPERATURES… TEMPERATURES IN THE MIDDLE 30S THIS EVENING… DROPPING TO THE UPPER 20S BY TUESDAY MORNING.

* WINDS… NORTHEAST 15 TO 25 MPH.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW… SLEET… OR FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES… AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

UPDATED: Snow Complaints By The Numbers

By ARLnow.com

Update at 12:05 p.m. — The county has informed us that the previous numbers we were given were wrong. The article now reflects the updated numbers.

Last week’s snow and ice storm has resulted in a total of 679 complaints to Arlington County through its new Report a Snow Issue form, according to the county’s Department of Environmental Services.

As of last night, here’s the breakdown of what citizens are reporting:

  • 406 — This street has never been plowed or needs additional plowing
  • 189 — Sidewalk concern
  • 52 — Other
  • 32 — This street is icy

By comparison, TBD reported that 30 complaints were submitted after 2-3 inches of snow fell on Dec. 16.

The county’s new snow removal ordinance says that snow and ice must be removed from public sidewalks 24 hours after precipitation stops falling. So far, however, no fines have been issued as a result of the ordinance.

“Our collective focus this year has been on education and compliance,” said Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Myllisa Kennedy. “To date, there have not been any civil infractions issued according to Code Enforcement.”

Arlington Public Schools Closed Friday

By ARLnow.com

With many side streets still snow-covered, with power still out in many areas, and with a refreeze predicted tonight, Arlington County Schools have decided to remain closed Friday.

It’s the third day in a row that schools have been affected by weather. Schools were closed Thursday and let out two hours early on Wednesday.

Although schools will be closed, administrative offices remain open.

Scenes From the Clean-Up

By ARLnow.com

Drive across the county today and you see the same scene repeated over again.

Tree limbs down the the score. Fallen utility lines coned off and marked with orange flags. Neighbors out with shovels and snow blowers. Kids, off from school, toting around plastic sleds. Stretches where power and traffic lights were out (including a busy section of Lee Highway between Kirkwood and Veitch). Police and firefighters responding to call after call after call.

In the aftermath of what caused so much frustration last night were more glimpses of the good that snow brings out in many of us. On side streets, many of those neighbors with shovels and snow blowers were out helping to clear the still un-plowed roads. Others could be seen clearing public sections of sidewalk so others didn’t have to walk in the street.

From reader Ann B.:

I have to give a shout out to two great neighbors today.

I’ve lived near the corner of N. Adams and Lee HWY for over 6 years now. This morning, two neighborhood guys actually shoveled the snow from the southeast corner to the bus shelter on Lee. This is one of the few times this has ever happened in 6 years.

I had a young one with me and it made all the difference. It’s nice to see neighbors giving a hand!

(Reminder: Per the county’s snow removal ordinance, property owners must clear their sidewalks by early tomorrow morning.)

Although it was difficult to find a navigable place to park in many parts of the county, here are some of the photos we managed to snap around North Arlington this afternoon.

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Power Could Remain Out Until Saturday, For Some

By ARLnow.com

It has been about 16 hours since the snow stopped falling, yet firefighters are still responding to non-stop calls of wires and trees down around the county. The workload speaks to just how widespread the damage from last night’s snow storm really was.

Dominion has been out in force, working furiously to restore service to the thousands of customers who lost power last night. As of 3:45 p.m., the number without power in Arlington has been cut to 6,700 — down from 16,700 last night.

Most Dominion customers in Arlington should have their power restored at some point tonight. Still, Dominion says 10 percent of affected customers will have to wait until Friday night for the lights to come back on. And the company doesn’t expect to have power restored to all Northern Virginia customers until Saturday.

“We have about 2,000 workers engaged in our restoration effort, including crews from Eastern and Central Virginia and North Carolina assisting in Northern Virginia,” Dominion executive Rodney Blevins said in a statement. “Please stay clear of downed lines and use extreme caution if you must be on the roads where snow, abandoned vehicles and downed trees could be affecting traffic patterns.”

More than 300 bucket trucks are working to restore power to the nearly 192,000 Northern Virginia customers who lost power last night, Dominion said.

Should Employers Have Let Employees Out Earlier?

By ARLnow.com

Talk to Virginia State Police, and part of the reason yesterday devolved into absolute gridlock has to do with everybody hitting the road at one time.

With the federal government getting out only two hours early, the roadways were already jammed with traffic as heavy snow started to fall around 4:00 p.m.

“Instead of having a staggered rush hour, like you typically do, you had everybody leaving at the same time… right as the storm hit,” said state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller. “Roads started deteriorating rapidly, and the vehicles started sliding into one another.”

Then, as gridlock set in, a new problem cropped up.

“The greatest challenge for clearing the interstates Wednesday evening in Northern Virginia was the sheer volume of abandoned vehicles,” Geller said. “Motorists were simply walking away from their vehicles – many of them being left still in the travel lane.”

Dominion Power, VDOT and Arlington County have all said that their efforts to restore power and clear streets were hampered by traffic and abandoned vehicles. In other words, if there were fewer vehicles on the streets, the streets would have been cleared earlier and not as many of the 16,700 Dominion customers without power last night would have been in the dark.

So should employers, including the federal and county governments, have let employees out earlier, given the early predictions of heavy snow around rush hour?

One Arlington County employee wrote to tell us that keeping county offices open until 5:00 placed county employees “in life threatening conditions.”

I think the decision by County officials to keep employees at work until 5 p.m. should be seriously questioned. Our department sent most of our out of county employees home early, but a core of Arlington residents remained. By the time the County closed its offices those employees were placed in life threatening conditions.

The storm was not a surprise. I can understand not closing early on a forecast alone. But once “whiteout conditions” are verified in Sterling and heading our way, employee safety should take precedence over previously announced plans.

Some of our employees required 7 hours to get home IN THE SAME COUNTY. Many are single women without somebody to assist them in an emergency.

The County manager is very lucky that today’s headlines did not feature employee deaths. It was a very bad decision to ignore facts on the ground for the sake of public relations. After 4:00 almost no citizens even ventured into the County building anyway. And employees were forced to sit and watch their situation become more and more desperate.

Flickr pool photo (top) by BrianMKA.

GW Parkway Reopened As Crews Clear Abandoned Cars

By ARLnow.com

Closed since it was the scene of a “bumper-car graveyard” last night, one lane of the northbound George Washington Parkway has finally reopened near Spout Run.

The road was closed for most of the morning as crews worked to clear snow, fallen trees and abandoned vehicles.

G.W. Parkway drivers spent up to 14 hours in their cars, from yesterday afternoon to early this morning, as fallen trees and collisions blocked the roadway in both directions.

“I have a friend who has been there since 5pm. She says cops are walking up and down, people are huddling together in cars,” a Twitter user told us just before 11:00 last night. There were reports of cars running out of gas and of people simply getting out of their cars and walking.

U.S. Park Police spokesman Sgt. David Schlosser tells WTOP that the Parkway was jammed due to a “cascading effect – crashes, trees coming down, people abandoning their vehicles.”

One woman who had been stuck on the Parkway told NBC Washington that she made it home at 5:30 this morning, after leaving her Crystal City office at 4:45 p.m.

Abandoned cars are being towed to the parking lots at the scenic overlook and Roosevelt Island.

Dr. Gridlock has more information on how to retrieve an abandoned vehicle.

Photo courtesy Steve Buttry.

The Storm Clean-Up Continues Around Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Nearly 12 hours after the snow stopped falling, firefighters are still responding to dozens of reports of downed trees and power lines.

There are now just under 13,000 Dominion customers without power, a number that seems to keep falling.

Highways like I-66 and I-395, which were jammed last night with traffic, snow and disabled and crashed vehicles, are now clear. Most major local county roads are clear. But many side streets remain impassable, either because of snow or downed trees. A big test will come in the next hour, as federal employees — currently on a two-hour delay — start heading to work.

Arlington County says its Emergency Communications Center handled more than 2,400 call during and after the storm last night. Normal call volume during that 12-hour time period is just under 900.

The county has issued a press release about its response to the storm:

ARLINGTON, Va. — Arlington County road crews have cleared the County’s arterial streets hours after a “thunderstorm” dumped several inches of snow on the County and snarled traffic across the region. Crews now are focusing on collector streets and will move into neighborhoods later this morning.

With schools closed and County government opening two hours late, the County is dealing with low hanging power lines, downed lines and fallen trees, or large branches thatt were obstructing roadways and sidewalks. A handful of vehicles were abandoned by commuters on County streets Wednesday night, impeding some plowing operations on arterial streets. By  8 a.m. Thursday, crews had cleared 20 downed trees, but at least seven trees were reportedly blocking streets, and another 11 streets were partially blocked.

“Our crews are hard at work and doing their best to dig the County out and get folks back to work and school as soon as possible,” said County Manager Barbara Donnellan. “We’re making good progress and we thank our residents and businesses for their patience.”

Residents urged to use public transit

The County’s Environmental Services department asked residents to use caution on the roadways and take public transit if they must travel today. Drivers who see a plow/salt spreader, should stay at least 100 feet behind the truck until it is safe to pass.

The County also asks residents to make sure their cars are off residential streets, if off-street parking is available, so that plows can move quickly and safely. The County has deployed 45 plows to clear and treat Arlington roadways. About 150 men and women have been working in two 12-hour shifts around the clock since before the storm hit.

Water pressure re-established

This morning our Water Sewer Streets Bureau investigated reports of low water pressure/no water in the area of Lee Hwy from Military Rd west to Washington Blvd. A power outage at a pumping station was suspected and a crew has since re-established pressure at the pumping station.

The widespread power outages affected a number of County facilities. Crews are working to reestablish power to those facilities. About 13,769 Dominion Power customers in Arlington were without power as of 6:45 a.m., many of those were north of Lee Highway.

ECC inundated with calls

The County’s Emergency Communications Center processed approximately 2411 inbound and outbound calls in a 12-hour period during the snow incident. (During December 2010, on a typical Wednesday, ECC processed on average of approximately 896 inbound and outbound calls from the center in a 12-hour period.)

The ECC dispatched about 356 fire calls for service, 75% of them directly storm-related. Another 229 calls for service were dispatched, 57% of them were directly storm-related.

For detailed information on closings, schedule changes and winter weather tips, and for information on the snow ordinance, visit the County Web site.

Residents and businesses are also being updated by the County on Facebook and Twitter.

The Virginia Department of Emergency Management has also issued a press release about the clean-up, after the jump.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Power Expected to Be Restored This Afternoon — As of 1:00 a.m., Dominion was reporting that about 16,700 customers in Arlington — nearly 20 percent of all customers in the county — were without power. That number is now down to 13,350. Throughout Northern Virginia, 138,000 Dominion customers lost power after the storm. The company expects to have power restored to most locations in Arlington between 4:00 and 6:00 this afternoon.

Pike Gym Opens at Last — The World Gym at Columbia Pike and South Walter Reed Drive has opened after a three-week delay in construction and permits. [Pike Wire]

Lee Center is No More — The Lee Center shopping center, at Pershing Drive and Route 50, has been torn down. [TBD]

Photo courtesy Steve Buttry

BREAKING NEWS — Motorists Still Stranded on GW Parkway, I-66

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:00 p.m.) The snow has stopped falling, but hundreds of motorists are still stranded on area roads and highways.

Drivers have been stuck on the George Washington Parkway for 5-6 hours now, according to various reports from Twitter.

The fact that there are no traffic cameras along the parkway has made it difficult to see exactly what’s going on, but Twitter users are reporting that downed trees are blocking all northbound and southbound lanes.

“My mother’s been there for 6 hours,” said one user.

“Talking to friend still stuck on parkway since 4:30 PM just past CIA exit going south,” said another.

“I have a friend who has been there since 5pm. She says cops are walking up and down, people are huddling together in cars,” said yet another.

Westbound I-66, meanwhile, has been at a virtual standstill since about 7:00 p.m.

Icy conditions and numerous accidents have made the two-lane highway impassable for much of the night.

“It’s been incredibly difficult getting equipment to trouble spots due to the heavy congestion but I believe it is being cleared and traffic is slowly moving now,” said VDOT spokeswoman Joan Morris.

Currently, there’s a large backup before the Rosslyn tunnel. Traffic is moving along single file past 21st Street, with a stalled car blocking the left-hand lane.

Earlier, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the reason why it was taking so long to get traffic moving was because the traffic itself was preventing crews from treating the roadway.

“There are vehicles that are stuck, and you have to get the vehicles out of the way before you can get the snow plows through to clear the road,” Geller said. “The shoulders aren’t wide enough, there’s not enough space to get the VDOT trucks through to treat roadways. So you have to clear the road, then get the trucks through to treat it. Then, as soon as you get it treated, more cars come through, someone loses control and it starts all over again.”

Geller said Virginia State Police responded to calls for 106 disabled vehicles and 56 crashes in Northern Virginia between 5:00 and 10:00 p.m.

At one point, Geller said, a state trooper was struck and knocked over by an out-of-control car on I-66 near Glebe Road. The trooper was not hurt and remained on the job, she said.

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