Snowflakes showered the D.C. area on Saturday for the first time this year, as the region steeled itself for a tussle with winter weather.
The D.C. Department of Public Works suspended leaf collection for one day to prepare for the snow and Department Director William Howland, Jr. stressed the importance of spreading salt or non-clumping kitty litter once the storm hits to make cleaning sidewalks easier afterward.
Mayor Adrian Fenty said the city has been preparing for months for a potential snowfall by readying equipment, procuring salt and improving routes.
“The District monitors forecasts and weather predictions constantly over the winter months in anticipation of any adverse weather,” said Gabe Klein, director of the District’s Department of Transportation. “We will treat the roadways, as necessary, throughout the storm.”
The District has 330 pieces of equipment and 750 personnel available for any given storm. The deployment plan for this weekend includes 107 heavy trucks, 82 light trucks, and activation of the city’s salt domes.
Metro also readied itself for the anticipated imbroglio with Mother Nature. The transit agency had prepped up to 2,200 tons of bulk rock salt to treat Metro roadways and parking lots, as well as 18,000 50-pound bags of de-icer for treating sidewalks and platforms.
In Virginia, Prince William County Schools canceled all events scheduled to take place after 3 p.m. on Saturday. The Virginia High School League’s semifinal football game at Battlefield High School was rescheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m.
While preparations and clean-up crews have been revving into gear, any overreaction could be premature. The National Weather Services’s Saturday forecast for the District called for between one and three inches of snow and the organization issued a winter weather advisory until 11 p.m. In areas further west, stretching into Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, the NWS did issue a winter storm warning and reported higher snowfalls than in the immediate area.
Still, D.C. does have a reputation for dramatizing potentially adverse weather. In January, President Obama was quick to point out Washington’s sky-is-falling mentality about winter weather after his daughters’ school was closed for what he called “some ice.”
“I’m saying, when it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don’t seem to be able to handle things,” he said.
