Just in case you thought the wintery weather was slowing toward a calmer climate — well, it’s not.
The Weather Channel reported that Winter Storm Pax “will continue to impact the Northeast, including the heavily populated I-95 corridor, Thursday into early Friday. There will likely be widespread travel disruption in the Middle Atlantic and Northeast from Virginia to Maine through Thursday night.”
Utility companies in the Washington, D.C., area, say power outages have been kept to a minimum so far — the one spot of bright news in an otherwise dismal outlook that saw plenty of area residents digging out their cars, and in some cases, from their homes. Southerners weren’t so lucky; hundreds of thousands reported loss of power by Thursday.
The federal government has shut down for the day, as well as various government offices and schools in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland.
Metrobus has suspended service, VRE and Marc trains are cancelled and at least 300 flights from area ports have been put on hold. Travel isn’t likely to resume the normal for another day.
Forecasters are calling for sleet and rain, as well as gusty winds, to move in to the region in spots, adding to the wintery mix that’s already dropped between 8 inches and a foot of snow in communities from Virginia to Maryland.
PHOTOS: Winter storm hits states — again
As the Weather Channel reported: “The Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City metros will be affected by multiple precipitation types. After starting as snow, all of these locations will mix with or change to sleet, freezing rain or plain rain. Snow will continue the longest to the north and west of these cities.”
For the first time since 2010, Washington is under a snow emergency plan — meaning anyone parking in areas the inhibit plows can be fined up to $400, News Channel 8 reported.
The governor of Virginia declared an emergency in several communities throughout the commonwealth. And Baltimore residents awoke to a foot of snow — the greatest accumulation so far this season.
“It’s blizzard-like conditions,” said one weather reporter with the local News Channel 8, in Frederick, Md. Media outlets in other parts of the region, meanwhile, reported numerous car wrecks and stranded vehicles on area roadways.
In other parts of the country, 12 deaths from weather-related incidents have been reported across the South. More than 4,700 flights around the nation have been canceled. And weather watchers put Delaware and Maryland residents on alert for flooding in the coming days, due to melting snow.
“While a change to rain can occur along some of the I-95 cities and most areas along the coast, this will be a major storm throughout the corridor with enough snow to make for slippery roads and difficult travel,” Accuweather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams told Fox News.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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