Ready for Snowmageddon 2? 10 things you need to know
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| Columbia Pike, Annandale, in February 2014. |
A big snowstorm coming our way could dump up to two feet of snow on Northern Virginia, the National Weather Service predicts. This storm, officially named “Jonas,” is expected to start about 3 p.m. Friday and continue until 6 a.m. Sunday. Here are 10 things you need to know:
(1) Visit 511virginia.org for updates on road conditions or call VDOT’s
Customer Service Center, 800-367-ROAD (7623).
(2) Report power outages and check the status of power restoration at Dominion Virginia Power’s outage center. Make sure all your devices are
charged, just in case.
(3) VDOT has approximately 2,500 crew members and more than 13,000 snowplows and other snow-removal equipment ready to deploy statewide plus a network of 77 weather sensors on roadways and bridges. Crews will clear, in order of priority, interstate and primary roads, major secondary roads with vital emergency and public facilities, other secondary roads, and subdivision streets.
(4) If snow reaches two inches or more, VDOT will activate an online neighborhood tracking map that monitors the status of plowing in Northern Virginia.
(5) Fairfax County will post snowstorm updates and tips for staying safe on its emergency information blog.
(6) Sign up for Fairfax Alerts to get weather updates on your phone via text or email.
(7) If you see someone outside at night in need of shelter, contact the Fairfax County non-emergency phone line, 703-691-2131, to have them connected with the county’s hypothermia prevention program.
(8) Keep tabs on elderly or disabled neighbors to make sure they have enough food and medical supplies to get them through the blizzard.
(9) Fire hydrants buried under snow could delay emergency services. Clearing a three-foot radius around hydrants could make a critical difference in case of an accident.
(10) If your home has a flat roof, snow accumulation could lead to a roof collapse. Evacuate your home and call 911 if you experience signs of distress, such as a sagging ceiling, new cracks, or creaking sounds.
7 responses to “Ready for Snowmageddon 2? 10 things you need to know”
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I blame Penny Gross for this inconvenient Blizzard.
Two Cents Gross has totally failed to institute the changes needed to combat Global Warming.
Fairfax County needs to buy a fleet of Teslas to ensure it has zero-carbon emission vehicles on the road Today. Not Tomorrow. Today.
LOL, but PG has a Fit she already is climate change sensitive. Sorry you will have to blame the rest of the world's woes on her. Didn't she implement ISIL on Seven Corners and the MDC has been petitioning their grand meeting house plans.
I say return this snowstorm to sender!
Build a wall, hire Sarah Palin and it will all go away.
I wonder how soon VDOT will plow streets in Mason District?
Um, they're plowing the ever loving crap out of them now. Some streets deep in the neighborhoods are still covered, but all the major roadways have maybe only an inch or so of topcover. Most secondary roads have <6" or so, some less. They're really doing quite an awesome job. There is an army of plows just swarming all over the place, pretty cool.
To be clear, there are definitely still some neighborhoods, particularly near Broyhill that are pretty well buried. But after riding around for a couple hours, my generally uninformed opinion is that things look pretty well and good. I think we're all going to work on Monday 🙁