After 729 days, D.C.'s snow drought is officially over. Several inches of snow piled up overnight, closing schools and federal offices in the nation’s capital after an initial burst of snow caused car crashes on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Parts of the region were under a winter storm warning until 10 a.m. Tuesday. A special weather statement remains in effect for a huge swath of the region from the Blue Ridge and Catoctin mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, warning of blustery winds and the chance for a bit of additional freezing drizzle. Go here for all weather alerts.
Photos: Winter storm covers DC area with snow
Most of Fairfax County, Virginia, clocked 3-4 inches of snow. One reading in Gaithersburg, Maryland, showed 3.9 inches. Howard County, Maryland, was a big winner with measurements over 5 inches, while Southern Maryland got less snow – about 2 inches.
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Messy roads are the biggest concern, but plows are out, and crews pretreated roads in anticipation of the snowfall.
“We have not dealt with this much snow in at least two years,” Storm Team4 Meteorologist Amelia Draper said. “It’s not just about the snow. There’s also the chance for some freezing rain ... along and east of I-95.”
“If you can, you want to avoid travel,” Draper said.
Most of the snowfall was over by 10 a.m., and bitter cold is moving in. Here's the Storm Team4 forecast.
Travel conditions and impact
Closures
Many schools in D.C., Maryland and Virginia closed on Tuesday, and others opened late. See a full list here.
Federal offices in the D.C. area also were closed.
Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess
Metrobus is operating under its Severe Snow Plan, with about 40 bus routes running. Service is limited to major roads, with additional snow detours possible based on road conditions.
Metrorail and MetroAccess are running regular service, although service may change based on weather conditions and staffing availability.
Commuters were advised to travel only if necessary and to expect delays. If snow is blocking curbs, riders should wait on sidewalks instead of in streets until the bus arrives.
Airport delays
More than 50 flights were canceled and nearly 100 were delayed out of Dulles International Airport, Reagan National Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport by 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to FlightAware's Misery Map.
Several passengers reported being stuck on the tarmac upon arrival Monday night at National Airport, including our Chief Meteorologist Doug Kammerer, who wasn't able to make it to the station in time for the 11 p.m. news.
A Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) spokesperson said runways were kept clear by their snow team, but that the backup was due to an "airline congestion issue."
Southwest Airlines said Reagan National saw delays and requested a "Ground Delay Program."
"We were forced to divert flights to BWI and elsewhere, turn others back to their origination points because DCA was unable to accept them," the spokesperson said.
News4 has not heard back from American Airlines. Other airports did not report similar delays.
Road conditions
Around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, authorities were called to multiple reports of spinouts and crashes on Pleasant Valley Road in Chantilly, Virginia, right on the line between Fairfax and Loudoun counties. At least one person was taken to the hospital and Pleasant Valley Road is now blocked at Middlesex Drive because of extremely icy conditions. The crashes appeared to happen at a tight curve on Pleasant Valley.
On Monday, Maryland State Police said troopers responded to 125 crashes and 41 disabled vehicles, and answered 350 calls for service between 2 and 10 p.m.
A dump truck overturned on DC-295 in Southeast D.C., spilling its contents onto the road and blocking all lanes. No injuries were reported, D.C. firefighters said.
A driver hit an EMS vehicle head-on along Rock Creek Parkway near Shoreham Drive, officials said. There were no injuries, but icy conditions were believed to be a factor.
A pickup truck hit a power pole in the Oakton area along Main Street near Presbyterian Way, Fairfax City police said. Dominion Energy crews responded to the scene. Dominion reported about 535 customers without power in the area shortly after the crash.
The GW Parkway between the Capital Beltway and Spout Run Parkway was shut down Monday because of poor road conditions, impacting travel not far from Reagan National Airport.
Future forecast
The fallen snow is here to stay for awhile, because things aren’t warming up. Temperatures are only in the mid-30s on Tuesday, with wind chills in the 20s. Wednesday is looking at a high of 30 degrees, with feels-like temperatures in the single digits in the early morning.
Draper said the snow likely won’t melt until sometime next week.
