After several days of warmer temperatures, Alexandria is experiencing weather whiplash as snow falls today (Thursday).
Rain has turned to a mix of snow and rain in the early afternoon. The National Weather Service says the brief snowfall could become heavy at times.
Snowfall has started in Northern Virginia, with about an inch or less of accumulation predicted throughout the rest of the day Monday, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
Light snow is expected through the midday and afternoon, with the steadiest snowfall lasting through 5 p.m., according to NWS. As much as an inch of snow could accumulate at unpaved surfaces throughout the D.C. metro area, NWS said in a special weather statement issued this morning (Monday).
Alexandria crews were quick to finish clearing Sunday’s snowfall, aided in part by some warmer temperatures and a lack of “snowcrete.”
As of last night (Monday), all primary, secondary and residential streets have been cleared, as well as Alexandria City Public Schools buildings, bus stops, city facilities and adjacent sidewalks, according to a city announcement. Roads are clear as ACPS students and staff make a return to classrooms today on normal schedules, following yesterday’s synchronous learning plans.
Between 2 and 4 inches of snowfall are expected to fall over Alexandria tomorrow (Sunday), according to a new Winter Weather Advisory issued by the National Weather Service this afternoon.
A mix of rain and snow are expected during the day Sunday, which could transition into full snowfall after 10 p.m., according to the latest NWS forecast. The new advisory tells D.C.-area residents to “plan on slippery road conditions.” It will be in effect from 5 p.m. Sunday through 10 a.m. Monday, potentially affecting commutes.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins says one lesson to be learned from January’s snow and ice storm is the importance of timely messaging that reaches a large audience.
“It’s given us a lot of lessons learned,” Gaskins said at a roundtable yesterday (Wednesday) hosted by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG).
Trash collection in Alexandria will begin again at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday) as the city’s offices, facilities and courts are set to open with regular hours.
If it is safe to do so, residents are instructed to place trash bins out tomorrow morning to allow snow removal crews to continue working through the night, according to a city announcement. Yard waste and compost will not be collected tomorrow, and there will not be a make-up date for missed collections since Monday.
The City of Alexandria is continuing around-the-clock snow removal operations after last weekend’s winter storm brought an “unprecedented amount of sleet and freezing rain” to the region, City Manager Jim Parajon said.
The storm was “unlike anything that we’ve experienced since the mid-1990s,” Parajon told City Council last night (Tuesday) during a report on Alexandria’s snow preparedness and response efforts. Hours of freezing rain and sleet on top of the city’s 7 inches of snow had limited the effectiveness of plows.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be a virtual workday for students and teachers at Alexandria City Public Schools.
ACPS facilities will remain closed for all activities for a third consecutive day due to inclement weather, Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt announced this afternoon. Students, teachers and staff will instead move to synchronous virtual learning plans.
A team of volunteers in Alexandria have bundled up to shovel and treat their neighbors’ walkways after this weekend’s winter storm.
For two decades, Volunteer Alexandria’s Snow Buddy Program has provided snow removal assistance to people with disabilities, homebound residents and seniors who meet income eligibility requirements. The program, which typically serves 30 to 40 residents, is meeting increased needs in the city, with 65 service requests from Alexandria residents so far this winter.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be another snow day for Alexandria City Public Schools students, ACPS announced this afternoon.
All schools and offices will close “due to below freezing temperatures this evening and road conditions across the region,” Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt wrote in an announcement. This also means all activities on school grounds are canceled.
DASH and DOT Paratransit have canceled all services for tomorrow (Monday), according to announcements from both systems this evening.
DASH’s service cancellation is the system’s first in years, it said, and comes as Alexandria’s public schools, libraries, government offices, facilities and trash collection have announced Monday closures and cancellations.
