Tonight's Deep Freeze and Black Ice Threat

Might have to downgrade that schoolcast even east of 95. Anne Arundel County is only on a 2-hour delayed opening, even though they were one of the hardest hit areas.

This snow was quite easy to shovel, and the sunshine melted a lot of it on the roadways even though the temps were only in the low 20s for highs.

JTF--good point. I'll revise to 2.5 apples there. Appreciate your input.

Boo, JTF! Don't ruin it! =)

How cold do folks think it will get at the airports tonight? I'll say DCA - 14, IAD - 10, and BWI 11

DCA - 17
IAD - 15
BWI - 16

Ffx has not announced yet. I can only assume that means they have not yet decided whether to close or delay. I cannot imagine an on time opening. I was out in Fairfax (near GMU) earlier this evening, and there were many streets that were not plowed. Parking lots were hit or miss. So I will keep waiting and hoping!

Guesses:

DCA - 12
IAD - 9
BWI - 10

I, as well, am hoping that if PWC doesn't open on-time (or at all) they call it tonight. Oh well, until then, I'm waiting patiently.

Colder than I care for. Come on Spring

janedoe5,

I echo your comments here. Must be between a delay or close... I would just like to know sometime in the near future. Based on the temperatures, nothing much will change between now and 5 AM tomorrow morning.

@edwardappleby: I calls it likes I sees it!

Charles County is opening 2 hours late.

I have to wonder how much the wind will keep temperatures up tonight.

It could be that tomorrow night will be the colder of the two nights, especially if there is still some snow cover left.

Current conditions: 10.9F (east of Front Royal, 1900 ft)

Overnight Low Temp Predictions:
DCA: 9
IAD: 7
BWI: 6

By the way, who won the airport snow prediction?

Finally tapped out at 28 last night, after the lobster froze to death.

The schools will be closed of course. Too many teachers still hung over. They'll be closed all week! One inch of snow closed MoCo schools for two days a month or two ago! God forbid a bus takes an extra half hour to get to school and the kids have to wait a few extra minutes outside. Somehow the risk of one or two kids getting frostbite outweighs the millions of dollars in lost productivity from parents having to stay home?! It makes me shake just to think about it. I'm going to have another beer or nine!

Everything is closed in Richmond area school wise. We got about 8.5 with this afternoon's brief snow shower. Heavy drifting during the afternoon. Main roads are clear, with some small amounts of wetness. Secondary streets were clear but wet at 6:30. Neighborhood roads were still unplowed/untreated.

Just remember. SOme of you may change from a 2hr to a closing. Happened in 2003.

Closing info as of 8:23 p.m., according to Wusa9:

DC Schools/Charters

Hyde Leadership Charter School - Open 2 Hours Late

MD Public Schools

Calvert Co Schools - MD - Code Yellow
Montgomery Co Schools - MD - Open 2 Hours Late
St. Mary's Co Schools - MD - Closed

VA Public Schools

Culpeper Co Schools - VA - Open 2 Hours Late
Fauquier Co Schools - VA - Closed
Fredericksburg City Schools - VA - Open 2 Hours Late
King George Co Schools - VA - Closed
Loudoun Co Schools - VA - Open 1 Hour Late
Orange Co Schools - VA - Closed
Page Co Schools - VA - Open 2 Hours Late
Spotsylvania Co Schools - VA - Closed
Stafford Co Schools - VA - Code 2

WV Public Schools

Mineral Co Schools - WV - Open 2 Hours Late

Govt/Courts - Federal

Webster University at Bolling AFB - All classes canceled

Govt/Court - County

St. Mary's Co Government - Opens at 10 am

Colleges/Trade Schools

Everest Institute - Silver Spring - Classes canceled
University of Mary Washington - No PM classes

Museums/Venues

Black Rock Center for Arts - Classes canceled

Malls/Service Orgs

Wash School Ballet/The Arc - Closed

Private Schools/Preschools

Calverton School - Closed
Church of the Redeemer School - Open 1 Hour Late
Clinton Christian School - Closed
Diplomatic Language Services - No PM classes
Ivymount School - Rockville - Open 2 Hours Late

Arch of Washington

Heights School - Potomac - Open 2 Hours Late

Places Of Worship

Antioch Baptist Church - All activities canceled

Daycare/Aftercare

Kids In His Care Day Care - Open 2 hours late

FFX has 2 hour delay.

Fairfax County has 2 hour delay.

Fairfax will open 2 hours late tomorrow.

Any guess for PGCPS? I assume a two-hour delay, but I don't know how badly the southern part of the county was hit.

Whoops, sorry about that...2 people beat me to it. I've posted too much tonight anyway...shutting up now. ;)

Anywho... I was wildly and unrealistically hoping for another day off, but two hours really isn't so bad.

amazing coverage cwg, as usual... i enjoyed the snow day off :) not too happy about navigating the icy sidewalks tomorrow, but the snow was worth it.

CWG:
is it really not going above freezing tomorrow?

Superb. I'm going to have a swell time trying to get out of my parking garage (it slants upwards toward the street and is brick) and to school tomorrow. I'm sure it will be a super productive day with my 7th graders...all of whom, I'm sure will have their homework. Please note sarcasm.

SnowMonsterDC, you crack me up!

CWG, your online weather package is the best thing ever. Keep up the good work! We've never had anything like this is the metro area before.

WHOA!!!

Tomorrow, 3/3/2009, all Prince William County Public Schools are closed on Code Green. The School Age Care Program will not open.

*shakes fist in response to PWC*

What. The. Heck. Did I miss something here? Did PWC get more snow or have more black ice than FFX? I will probably make every FFX parent on here angry, but seriously, we had one more day left built in...just give it to us! Spring break seems oh so far away.

:) Still pretty and white outside in Manassas...the cold is keeping away the dreaded slush.

Ann-CapitalWeatherGang I'm not talking about a snowfall map. I am suggesting an interactive map where selected users with proper equipment could contribute on a daily basis. Temperatures and precip would probably be the things that people would be interested in.

Hey HistoryTchr:

I predicted this while talking to my mom on the phone earlier. I said that the only reason for closing schools would be to use our last snow day up and save money on electricity. We have to power down all of our computers over the weekend to save money, and an extra day out of school would save even more.

HistoryTchr-
I know. Really.
We could all use the break!

anpanman: Good point. They make the teachers in PWC unplug everything in their classrooms before they leave for the weekend. I don't know how much money it saves, but it must be quite a bit.

PG county is on a 2 hour delay.

weatherdudeVA:

Last year, before the budget crisis, my principal had us turning the monitors on all of our classroom computers off every night, and it saved a LOT of money. We were able to buy more instructional stuff for our school. I can imagine that turning the whole computer off saves even more. It's a slight hassle, but definitely worth it.

Wind chill advisory in effect. Brrrr!

OK, going to bed now. Just finished watching 24, by far the best show on tv today.

I'll be going to work tomorrow. Cable Chains are already on the tires to get out to the main road.

Current conditions: 9.0F on the Blue Ridge in Northern Va

City of Manassas schools are closed as well. No Country roads here, and having taken a drive around earlier, I have no idea why they decided to keep the schools closed.

@MKadyman

We'd like to do something like you propose. It's in our long term plans...but no ETA yet.

@walter-in-falls-church

We think it should stay below freezing but it will be close... Nonetheles snow will melt given sun...and fine, powdery nature of snow.

Can anyone tell my WHY all these schools are closing/delayed for tomorrow? Does this happen everytime theres a storm around here? Roads are fine, it's not going to be THAT cold, I don't get it. 2 days to get over a 6-8" snowstorm? That's pushing it.

Brian,
Welcome to DC dude! Cracks me up too, but don't allow yourself to preach, it doesn't go over well. It is what it is. :)

my predictions for the morning lows

dca 11
Iad 11
Bwi 10

not much of a heat island tonight

Brian, just accept it and move on. ;)

Gotta have more domes...

Brian, have you noticed people don't know how to drive here when it is sunny and clear? You really want drivers on the roads in less than ideal conditions?

Plus, for some reason, if the main roads are cleared the folks in charge of snow removal consider their job done. Meanwhile everyone who is NOT on a major road, can't get anywhere. So, if no one can get to school, there is no point in opening.

Brian,

I used to think the same thing when I lived inside the beltway but once I moved to Reston I understood why school sometimes has to close.

Take a drive on Hunter Mill Road or Laywers Road and you will see what I mean. Lots of hills and curves with tress near inches from the road. Fox Mill Road even still has a one lane bridge -- I kid you not !

Brian,

Safety should always trump toughness. This isn't Boston or Chicago. Yes, main roads are fine, but many bus routes are not. My street in Arlington is a solid sheet of ice. If it means taking an extra hour or two to make sure kids get to school safely then what's the big deal. I will never understand why toughness over safety has become this huge issue here. It's not a big deal.

Do you think MoCo would upgrade from a delay?

Where is Al Gore skiing now that so much snow is falling and global warming has been put on hold.