The blizzard of late January is but a memory, save for a few piles of snow that still remain — despite temperatures near 80 degrees — about six weeks later.
The one big storm of the winter dumped about three feet of snow on Reston Jan. 23-24. People dug out within a day or two — but snowplows made piles on some streets and sidewalks that reached six feet or more.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Reston and the rest of the Washington, DC, area from 10 p.m. Thursday to 10 a.m. Friday.
Precipitation will move in initially as a rain and snow mix early this evening before transitioning to all snow late tonight. Snow is expected overnight impacting the morning commute. Snow is expected to taper off by midday Friday. Total accumulation: one to three inches, says the NWS.
A little bit of snow is likely heading here this evening. It’s not much, but it may be just enough to impact evening rush hour.
The Capital Weather Gang says about a half-inch of snow is expected to move through Northern Virginia about 6 p.m. But combined with very cold temperatures, that could make for icy roads and backed-up traffic, similar to what we saw on Jan. 20.
All activities scheduled in Fairfax County public schools or on school grounds for this evening must be completed by 6:15 p.m. or are canceled, including:
SACC centers will remain open until 6:15 p.m. SACC Administration requests parents make every effort to pick up children earlier, if possible.
So it’s a good time to take a step back and reflect about what went right and what wasn’t so right in the Fairfax County and Virginia Department of Transportation response.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova is calling for a “snow summit” at the Supervisors’ March 1 meeting.
Fairfax County Public Schools will finally open on Monday — but there will be a two-hour delay, the system announced Sunday afternoon.
From FCPS:
It’s been nearly a week since close to three feet of snow socked Reston. While warmer temperatures have contributed to significant melting, many streets are still down to one lane and lots of sidewalks remain unshoveled, so really, anything can happen.
What’s your prediction? Will the school district really be ready for kids to return to class on Monday? Or will FCPS be looking at its eighth snow day or more?
Warmer temperatures have contributed to significant melting of the record snow this week, but one problem still plaguing Reston-area roads is narrow access — two-lane roads are now one-lane roads in many spots.
Snowplow piles and lanes that haven’t been plowed are on many roads, making it slow-going or even dangerous on major streets.
The post office was socked in by snow from Friday to early Wednesday. Rep. Gerry Connolly’s office got involved with the issue late on Tuesday to speed up the process.
The clear parking lot meant mail trucks were finally freed, and many Reston residents (editor’s note: including me) got home delivery on Wednesday for the first time in four or five days.
You’ve spent hours shoveling out a parking spot. You are not going to put in all that effort for nothing.
That was the message all along Glade Drive on Wednesday. As many people returned to work, they had to dig out their cars from snowdrifts and snowplow piles.
Fairfax County Public Schools will be closed for the rest of the week so crews can continue to clean up from the three-foot snowfall that pummeled the area over the weekend.
FCPS students have not had school since last Wednesday. By the end of the week, there will have been seven snow days used this schools year.
The Reston branch of the U.S. Post Office has finally been plowed and will be open for business Wednesday.
Reston residents should expect home mail delivery Wednesday.
Trains began running at 5 a.m. All other rail lines are open as well.
Metro officials had announced late Tuesday afternoon that they were still unsure about the Silver Line’s status for Wednesday.
Fairfax County Public Schools has announced it will be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 27. This will be the fifth snow day of the 2015-16 school year.
Many school driveways — as well as residential neighborhoods — in Fairfax County have not yet been plowed, making school access unsafe.
The agency, which is responsible for most of Virginia’s primary and secondary roads, said in a statement that “crews are making significant progress on 16,000 subdivision streets across Northern Virginia. If residents do not have one passable lane by 6 a.m. tomorrow, they can contact VDOT at 1-800-FOR-ROAD or [email protected].
VDOT says passable is defined as the ability for a rear wheel drive vehicle to operate safely. This means that roads will not be cleared down to bare pavement and will not be cleared curb to curb.
