Washington DC Blizzard Update: Federal Government, Metro Closings and More

Update: OPM announced that the Federal government will be closed Thursday.

The Office of Personnel Management will announce shortly after 6 p.m. whether or not the Federal government will be closed again Thursday, following the second blizzard to strike Washington DC in a week. All bets here are for a shutdown given the status of roadways and Metro.

A critical factor in any Federal government snow emergency decision is whether Metro is up and running. 35 to 40% of the Washington, DC based Federal workforce relies on Metro to get to work. More than a million DC area resident ride Metro rail and bus daily.

Metro pulled its buses out of service Tuesday evening as the second blizzard got underway, citing hazardous road conditions. Only the underground sections of Metro train service operated during the blizzard, while the 40 above-ground stations closed due to weather conditions.

Metro is hopeful that it may be able to restore some bus and above-ground rail service on Thursday. With the National Weather Service predicting wind gusts up to 50 m.p.h. Wednesday evening, snow drifts teasing the plows clearing above-ground tracks may impede Metro's ability to re-open above-ground stations Thursday. Ice on the third rail is another concern as it would prevent electricity from powering the trains, even if Metro overcomes the challenge of keeping snow off the tracks.

Like Metro's above-ground trains, MARC commuter trains did not operate Wednesday; the decision as to whether they will operate Thursday is expected Wednesday evening.

Road conditions remain dangerous as of Wednesday evening. WUSA 9 reported that Virginia state police responded to 2,154 service calls Wednesday between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., including 805 crashes and 769 disabled vehicles.

In Maryland, Governor Martin O'Malley announced that roads will not be scraped down to the pavement for several more days; immediate plowing efforts are limited to creating access for emergency vehicles. Montgomery County suspended plowing operations during the blizzard redux, citing worker safety; VDOT chose to keep on plowing, but authorized individual plow operators to cease operations if they felt unsafe.

The airports shut down Wednesday, but hope to re-open Thursday. Crews have been on duty at the airports for six days running. Amtrak operated limited service Wednesday.

Before the latest blizzard struck, snow was piled high on curbs and sidewalks, creating hazardous conditions for pedestrians forced to share the plowed roads with motor vehicles. Massive snowbanks created visibility issues for drivers and pedestrians alike. With more snow and significant drifting, it is unlikely conditions will improve enough for major institutions in the Washington DC area to re-open for business by Thursday.

Area school systems have already taken their cue and closed through Friday.

Sources: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/; http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=4300; http://www.wmata.com/pdfs/planning/CoreCapacity_ExecSum.pdf; http://www.weatherforyou.com/weather/KDCA.html; http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=96996&catid=158;