The closing and cancellations are already starting to come in for Friday ahead of the potential blizzard that is expected to pound the Washington region early Friday through Saturday.
The National Weather Service has upgraded a winter storm watch to a winter storm warning from 10 a.m. Friday to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Because of the threat of severe winter weather, federal agencies will be open under an unscheduled leave policy. This means employees who cannot report for work may request unscheduled leave for their entire scheduled workday. Employees must notify their supervisors of their intent to take unscheduled leave. Emergency employees are expected to report for work on time.
Metro announced that if snow accumulations are 8 inches or higher, above-ground service will be suspended. Metro will then operate below ground service only.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell already has declared a state of emergency in advance of a winter storm Wednesday's declaration authorizes state agencies to assist local governments responding to a storm that could bring high winds and up to 20 inches of snow to the northern and western parts of the state. McDonnell said road crews and the Virginia National Guard are prepared to respond, and urged residents to do the same.
So how bad will it be? NBC4 chief meteorologist Bob Ryan said this storm could be a lot like the December storm that dropped up to 2 feet of snow in some parts of the D.C. region.
The initial estimates from the National Weather Service start at 16 inches and go to 24 inches. Ryan said light snow could start to fall in the area between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Moderate to heavy snow will start to fall between 7 p.m. and midnight.
Ryan said a couple of inches of snow could be on the ground by Friday evening's rush hour. We could see 6 to 8 inches by midnight and a foot is possible by dawn on Saturday, with more to come throughout the day.
Whatever amount of snow we receive should last quite a while, as the storm will be followed by the coldest air of the season. The cold wave could last for nearly a week following the storm, so the snow won't melt anytime soon.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
