[Archived] Winter Storm Expected Tonight: Are You Prepared?

For Immediate Release: March 13, 2017

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Alexandria area from 7 p.m. on Monday, March 13, until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14. The storm is forecast to begin with rain and mixed precipitation, with snow and sleet accumulations of 4 to 8 inches expected. Heavy snow is anticipated to create difficult travel conditions and potential scattered power outages. The City is monitoring conditions and crews are pretreating primary routes, bridges, overpasses and hills in anticipation of the storm.

The City urges all residents and businesses to be prepared 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. Motorists are also urged to take forecasts seriously and plan for where they and their families could stay in the event roads are too dangerous to drive.

"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 Corey Smedley, 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."

Crews will stage equipment and prepare 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, intermediate 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. 

Additional Information 

• Today’s City Council Budget Public Hearing will be held as scheduled, at 4 p.m., in City Hall Council Chamber, 301 King St.
• Refuse recycling collection will be postponed on Tuesday, March 14, and collections will be delayed by one day for the remainder of the week. Tuesday collections will occur on Wednesday; Wednesday’s collections will occur on Thursday; and Thursday collections will take place on Friday.
• 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 Alexandria Transit Company DASH bus information, visit www.dashbus.com/SnowRoutes.
• For information about Metrobus and Metrorail service, visit www.wmata.com. 

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 updates during the storm, visit www.alexandriava.gov, or sign up for Alexandria eNews at www.alexandriava.gov/eNews, or connect with us on social media at www.alexandriava.gov/SocialMedia. 

For more information about the City’s Winter Weather Emergency System, snow removal priorities and preparedness, visit www.alexandriava.gov/Snow.