Heavy snow, blizzard warning in Washington, DC, eastern seaboard
This could be a historic snow fall on Washington DC. The National Weather Service has issued both a Blizzard and Winter Storm Warning for Washington, DC area that includes Maryland and Northern Virginia.
The intensity of the storm could being snowfall rates of 2 inches (5 cm) per hour or possibly higher along with thunder snow between 10 AM and 3 PM.
According to Washington-based FOX News television station, FOX 5 / MyFoxDC.com, accumulations for the District and across the region are predicted to range from 12-22” (30-56 cm) with the heaviest snowfall occurring between 8 AM and 6 PM on Saturday. Temperatures will remain in the upper 20s F to lower 30s F (around zero degrees Celcius) throughout the event with winds 15 to 25 mph and gust reaching 40 mph today.
DC Metro has suspended all above ground metro stations and all bus services starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday due to the heavy snowfall covering the third rail.
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has declared a snow emergency in the District which will begin at 7 a.m. on Saturday as a major snowstorm heads toward the area. Washington, DC government officials are asking people to stay home unless it is absolutely necessary. Snow started falling in the District around 8pm on Friday. Residents are reminded to spread salt or kitty litter on their sidewalks, walkways and steps during the snow. This should make it easier to shovel the snow after the storm ends. Regional reports overnight of abandoned vehicles has brought concern to the area. The District also wants to remind people that if they must be in their cars they should make sure they are prepared with enough gas in the gas tank, high levels of windshield washer fluid, and a safety kit in the car including blankets, water, and cell phone chargers, Drivers should try and move their broken down vehicle to the side of the road and put their emergency flashers on. The storm is moving fast and near blizzard conditions are making it difficult to see other vehicles as site lines are limited.
Washington officials plan to hit the streets with more than 300 pieces of snow-combating equipment from trucks spraying brine and dumping salt to plows.
As was reported by CNN, three people have died in Virginia as a major snowstorm slams the East Coast on the weekend before Christmas, said Virginia's emergency management department. One person died late Friday and two others died Saturday in a pounding storm. More heavy snow was expected in the state. The foul weather prompted an emergency declaration in the nation's capital, stranded hundreds of motorists, brought havoc at airports, caused power outages, and threatened to keep hordes of Christmas shoppers indoors. The storm is blanketing the mid-Atlantic region and the heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, due to the major snowstorm working its way up the eastern seaboard, airline traffic arriving at East coast airports is delayed. At the Philadelphia International Airport the an average cdelay is 6 hours and 11 minutes. Newark Liberty International Airport, JFK International Airport, La Guardia Airport, and Atlantic City International Airport are experiencing minor delays up to 15 minutes for arriving and departing flights. Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) has weather delays, some less than 30 minutes. The Washington Dulles International Airport weather delays are being affected by neighboring conditions at Philadelphia International.
According to USA Today, commercial air traffic was halted at Washington National Airport Saturday and more than a thousand flights had been canceled by noon ET as an intense December snow storm moved into the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. The Federal Aviation Administration said on its website flights were not likely to resume at National airport until Sunday morning, at the earliest. Elsewhere, even where flights were flying, service was spotty at a number of airports. Many airlines "proactively" canceled hundreds flights as the storm neared. United and Delta each had canceled more than the 500 flights each by noon ET, according to The Weather Channel. The Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia airports were the hardest hit, as of 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Delta reportedly canceled all flights in and out of Washington D.C., and American Airlines canceled its D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia flights, USA Today says.
See weather forecast in Washington DC area for the next 10 days.
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