Preparing for what was likely to be the heaviest snowfall of the season, D.C.-area leaders declared snow emergencies Monday, and vowed that plows and salt trucks would work through the night to clear roadways.The National Weather Service predicted between 6 to 8 inches of snow would coat the metropolitan region into Tuesday, with heavier accumulations in suburbs south of the District.
In Virginia, Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a snow emergency to assist in positioning resources for a quick response to an anticipated heavy snowfall.’
“This storm could bring difficult travel and widespread power outages for the next few days,” Mr. McAuliffe said. “Please postpone travel during the storm, charge up your mobile devices so you can stay in touch, and take time to check on your neighbors in case they need help.”
More than 4,000 trucks began pre-treating and clearing snow and ice from Virginia interstates, major roads and neighborhood streets Monday afternoon.
In the District, Mayor Muriel Bowser authorized the towing of any vehicles parked on main city thoroughfares beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday to make it easier for crews to clear those roads. Anyone who leaves a vehicle parked on a “snow emergency route” will receive a $250 ticket and be subject to a $100 tow and applicable storage fees.
Maryland officials warned that Tuesday’s morning rush hour could be particularly difficult as a result of the snow, and warned residents to stay home if possible in the overnight hours while crews were at work.
“This is expected to be the strongest storm so far this year for much of Maryland, and … frigid temperatures [make] for a very dangerous combination,” said Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.
Arctic temperatures that enveloped the region this weekend and broke record lows at area airports are expected to continue throughout the week.”
Wednesday to Friday look to be just as cold, if not colder,” said meteorologist Dan Hofmann. “Highs struggle to get to 20 degrees, with lows in the single digits in the outlying suburbs.
“The winter storm rolled steadily across the mid-Atlantic region Monday afternoon from the Midwest and the South, where officials made certain that roads were prepared this year after Southern cities — most notably Atlanta — were caught off guard a year ago when a snowstorm stranded thousands of people on interstates overnight.
Snow swirled sideways in Kentucky, and the typically bustling state capital of Frankfort came to a frozen halt Monday as a storm walloped parts of the South, which, unlike the Northeast, had been mostly spared this winter.Roads were slushy and traffic was moving slowly in Tennessee. Justyn Jackson, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Nashville, said the last bad winter storm in the city was in 2010, when up to 4 inches of snow fell.
“A lot of cities up north, they deal with this several times during the winter. It’s really not uncommon for them at all,” Mr. Jackson said. “Down here, especially in Nashville, although it’s not rare, it certainly on average happens once or twice a winter.”
Georgia officials were taking no chances, bringing in more personnel to the state operations center and pre-treating roads with a mixture of salt and water. Atlanta was expected to get rain, dodging any icy or snowy conditions. Up to a quarter of an inch of ice could accumulate in a handful of mountainous northern counties.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said he hopes the government is “overprepared and underwhelmed.”It’s been almost a year since a winter storm dumped as much as 22 inches of snow in the North Carolina mountains and pelted the eastern part of the state with ice. In Raleigh, much like Atlanta, many abandoned their cars alongside the road or in parking lots — if they could navigate.
The winter storm also could bring more snow and ice to parts of the Northeast, which has been slammed by seemingly endless snow this winter.The latest system to sweep the Northeast over the weekend brought another foot to Boston — on top of 6 feet that has fallen over the last month — and tested New Englanders who say the winter is beginning to feel like one without end.
Temperatures in the Northeast were already bitterly cold Monday.New York City came close to breaking a 127-year-old record when the temperature in Central Park hit 3 degrees, just 2 degrees above the record set in 1888, according to the National Weather Service.
This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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