[Archived] Significant Winter Storm Expected Wednesday Night: Are You Prepared?

For Immediate Release: February 12, 2014

The National Weather Service is predicting a major winter storm for the Mid-Atlantic region on Wednesday and Thursday, February 12 and 13, and has declared a Winter Storm Warning for the Alexandria area from Wednesday at 8 p.m. through Thursday at 3 p.m.  The Governor has declared a state of emergency in Virginia, which provides additional flexibility for state and local agencies to respond to the storm.

Significant accumulation of heavy, wet snow may result in a Level 1 or Level 2 storm, which means some residential roads may not be clear until the end of the weekend.  This type of precipitation often results in power outages.  The City urges all residents and businesses to prepare for the possibility that it may not be safe to travel for three or more days, and that power may be out during this period. 

“The best thing you can do to protect your family or your business against any type of unforeseen emergency year-round is to have three days of food, water, and medicine available and to have a plan for what to do if you can’t travel safely,” said Mark Penn, the City’s emergency management coordinator.  “In this case, the emergency is not unforeseen.  Even if we don’t get all the weather the forecast says is possible for a given storm, it’s always smart to be prepared.”

City crews are pretreating roads, bridges and other key travel infrastructure, and are preparing to work 24 hours a day to clear roads if necessary. Residents and businesses can help by staying off the roads during and after snowfall, not parking on snow emergency routes, promptly clearing sidewalks and entrances, not shoveling snow into the street, and clearing snow from around fire hydrants and storm drains. 

The City clears snow from more than 560 lane miles of roadway, 20 miles of City-owned walkways and trails, and 44 acres of municipal parking lots or City-owned squares.  Roads are plowed by priority, with primary and snow emergency routes cleared first, followed by secondary routes and then residential streets.  During a major storm, it may only be possible to plow roads so that they are passable for emergency vehicles, rather than down to the pavement across all travel lanes.  Use the City’s SnowReport tracking system to check on plowing priorities, the status of your street, or to submit a concern. 

If your power goes out, report it to Dominion Virginia Power at 866.DOM.HELP (866.366.4357) or www.dom.com.  To report a water main break or for questions about water service, contact Virginia American Water at 800.452.6863. For Alexandria City Public Schools operating status, see www.acps.k12.va.us/emergency.

For questions or concerns about storm response, call 703.746.HELP.  Please call 911 only in the case of a life-threatening emergency or serious crime.

For details, including storm level definitions and preparedness information, visit  alexandriava.gov/Snow, sign up for the City’s eNews service, or connect online at alexandriava.gov/SocialMedia.