Washington Likely to Panic Over a Little Bit of Snow Tomorrow

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the Washington area ahead of an incoming system that could bring up to a terrifying two inches of snow Tuesday morning. If the forecast pans out, it will bring Washington its first significant snowfall of the winter, and, presumably, fresh round of panicky commuter tweets and demands from school-aged children for a snow day.

According to the NWS advisory, the heaviest snows will fall in the western suburbs, while the District and the immediate suburbs will get two inches, at most. The snow is expected to start falling about 6 AM and could continue as late as noon. With temperatures dropping into the low 20s, NWS expects this storm to be all snow.

The District’s snow team is starting to mobilize, the first snow test for new Mayor Muriel Bowser. City trucks are spending Monday afternoon treating roads and bridges with a beet-based brine, and plows will be sent out tomorrow starting at 5 AM. Although the District last November enacted a law requiring homeowners and businesses to shovel the sidewalks in front of their buildings, fines in violation of the snowy statue do not take effect until next winter. Still, it’s good etiquette to clear the sidewalk. Clear your sidewalk.

Tomorrow’s weather is also expected to bring the area’s first sustained cold front, with temperatures lingering in the 20s and 30s for the rest of the week. Here are phone numbers around the area to report people in need of shelter from the cold:

• DC: (800) 535-7252
• Montgomery County: (240) 777-4000
• Prince George’s County: (888) 731-0999
• Alexandria: (703) 548-7500
• Arlington: (703) 228-7395
• Fairfax County: (703) 691-2131

Find Benjamin Freed on Twitter at @brfreed.

Benjamin Freed

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.