Washington DC Area Closing Announcements Pile Up as Blizzard Nears
The first blizzard of the winter hit the DC metro region December 19-20, closing schools for the last days before Christmas break, shutting down local governments, and stopping Metro service in its tracks. The December blizzard dumped 16.4 inches of snow at Reagan National Airport and several inches more in the suburbs.
Some DC area services are shuddering to a halt at the mere anticipation of Friday's snowfall.
Federal Government Activates Unscheduled Leave Policy
The Federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) took pre-emptive steps to address Friday's possible blizzard conditions. OPM activated its unscheduled leave policy, issuing a memorandum Thursday encouraging "chief human capital officers" at Federal agencies to allow telework, use alternate work schedule days off, expend credit hours, or apply for unscheduled leave. OPM will monitor weather reports and determine whether to close the Federal government altogether Friday.
DC Schools Closing Early Friday Due to Expected Blizzard
DC Public Schools have already announced early closing plans for Friday, with all schools closing at noon and all extracurricular activities cancelled.
Metro Plans Service Interruptions
Metro will open at 5:30 am Friday as usual but will shut down service on above-ground portions of its track when snow accumulation reaches 8 inches. Metro plans to run up to 12 trains on all routes, with additional trains remaining in the rail yard. When Metro closes above ground track, it will operate its underground service on a modified schedule with trains operating every 30 minutes. Metro expects to modify or suspend bus service based on weather conditions Friday but will announce those changes as the weather progresses.
Metro has already advised commuters to expect 15% of Metro parking lot parking spaces to be piled high with snow on Monday February 8.
Montgomery County Public Schools Snow Decision Pending
The Montgomery County Public Schools announced Thursday that its decision on whether to open schools Friday will be posted by 5:30 am while any decision to close early will be announced by 10:30 am. School children already experienced one snow day this week when some 6 inches of snow dusted the region. Much of that snow has since melted.
Arlington Public Schools Closed Friday
Arlington, Virginia Public Schools will be closed Friday due to the anticipated blizzard conditions.
Arlington Government Permits Unscheduled Leave
Arlington County Government is allowing its employees to take unscheduled leave rather than report to work on Friday.
Other Metro DC Area Snow Closings
WTOP is reporting several other snow closings for Friday including Alexandria Public Schools, and Fairfax Public Schools, as well as several outlying school districts and private schools. WTOP's school closing list is published here.
Sources: http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=lwx&wwa=winter%20storm%20warning; http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/weather/02/04/winter.storm/index.html; http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2508745/blizzard_blanketing_dc_in_snow_closes.html?cat=8; http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/; http://www.chcoc.gov/Transmittals/TransmittalDetails.aspx?TransmittalId=2839; http://www.opm.gov/status/; http://www.dc.gov/closures/closures_by_type.asp?type=1; http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=4279; http://www.arlingtonva.us/portals/topics/topicsweathercancellations.aspx; http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=228&a=1.
Published by Carol Bengle Gilbert - Featured Contributor in Lifestyle
2010 Yahoo! Outstanding Contributor of the Year, Carol has consistently been designated a Top 100 Yahoo! Contributor Network writer. She received a 2008 People's Media Award for "Best Article." Web writing... View profile
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18 Comments
Post a CommentI could not believe that Philly actually didn't get mail yesterday, the post office officially shut down until Monday, and that our transit system shut down for the first time! Not even during the Blizzard of '96 did this happen!
Speaking of DC... I will be there to pick up my final papers from the Swedish Embassy sometime early spring. Hoping in March sometime. Wanna do lunch?
Great coverage. We got hit hard here today.
I had to get off the phone with a vendor so he wouldn't be trapped in his office! (=
My brother lives in D.C., and he sent pics of all the snow. It's so pretty. I wish we'd get just a little of it.
Everybody seems to be gettin g more snow this year! We just recently got rid of the snow from Christmas and now we are getting another 4 inches as I type! I'm glad I am retired and don't have to go anywhere!
I'm a bit south of you, maybe 40 miles. We're forecast 10-18" with some of that being sleet. It started to snow an hour ago, although it is a very light snow. Snow doesn't bother me, being from Erie, but ice is a huge problem down here and I'm afraid we'll lose power due to ice this weekend.
we're getting icy today! :) jeffrey
If the area is unprepared to deal with really heavy snowfalls, I think it's best to be prepared and for schools to be closed and companies to let workers go home early or to have the day off. here is nothing worse than getting to work, only to find you can't get home again at the end of the day.
I used to live in the area, and I remember what it was like to get even a tiny bit of snow. In that sense, DC (and Alexandria, where I used to live) are real Southern towns!!