Snow, sleet and freezing rain: What to expect from Saturday’s messy storm

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A messy winter storm is approaching the D.C. area Saturday, bringing a “mixed bag” of cold weather. Here’s what you need to know. The National Weather Service expects D.C. and the nearby suburbs to receive less than 1 inch of snow from the storm. But the agency has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., for those who live near and west of Interstate 95. Even farther out from the District — in Washington, Frederick and Carroll counties in Maryland — there’s a Winter Storm Warning in effect from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday.

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Road crews prepare

WTOP meteorologist Mike Stinneford said the storm is expected to start out as snow or sleet mixed with rain across the southwestern region around sunrise Saturday — but the snow will quickly change to rain. “We’re not gonna get a lot but enough to cause things to be a little slippery tomorrow,” he said. It’ll be rain for much of the area Saturday afternoon, with a few localized pockets of snow, sleet and freezing rain, primarily near the Blue Ridge and the Pennsylvania border Stinneford tells WTOP, “So there could be some slushy accumulation — not a big deal.” He warns drivers to remain wary of slick spots. “I think all of the listening area up to the Blue Ridge even to the Pennsylvania line to eventually see this precipitation change over to rain by late in the day,” Stinneford said.

How road crews are preparing

Despite the increased chance of rain by the middle of Saturday, a couple of state agencies were out since early Friday morning, pre-treating the roads to prevent the precipitation from bonding with the road. “We have our team in place, we’re ready to roll and we’ll be in there tomorrow morning before any precipitation even starts,” said Charlie Gischlar, from the Maryland State Highway Administration, in an interview with WTOP’s Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer. Gischlar also recommends doing your best to stay home if possible because more people on the roads could hinder the road crews’ ability to clear the asphalt. “The more traffic we’re in with our crews and our contracting partners, the less efficient we can be so if we’re out there unencumbered, we can get more pavement clear in a more timely manner,” he said. The Virginia Department of Transportation has been out on the roads as well. “Our crews have been out brining since midnight this morning,” department representative Ellen Kamilakis said. She told WTOP that the department plans to have 780 trucks out in the region, “but obviously based on the forecast, we’re heavily focused on Loudoun County.” D.C. is also preparing for the storm. At 9 a.m. on Saturday, the District Snow Team — including nearly 150 heavy plows to treat highways, streets, bridges and other elevated structures and 87 light plows for smaller streets — will deploy, according to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office.

Other impacts

Fairfax County Public Schools has canceled all of its Saturday activities ahead of the expected storm. That includes:

Extracurricular activities
Interscholastic contests
Team practices
Field trips
Professional learning and training courses
In-person Adult and Community Education (ACE) classes, recreation programs and community use by outside groups not affiliated with FCPS.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

FULL FORECAST

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR WASHINGTON, FREDERICK, AND CARROLL COUNTIES IN MARYLAND FROM 10 AM TO 10 PMWINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ALONG AND WEST OF I 95…DOES NOT INCLUDE THE DISTRICT. ADVISORY RUNS FROM 7 AM TO 10 PMEARLY SATURDAY MORNING: Mostly cloudy. Lows in the 20s suburbs, 30 near the District. LATER SATURDAY: Snow and sleet developing from southwest to northeast. Mainly rain over southern Maryland. Snow and sleet will change over to rain along and east of I-95 by mid- to late morning, with only minor accumulations. Snow over the far northern and western suburbs may accumulate 1 to 3 inches, with locally higher amounts near the Pennsylvania border and the Blue Ridge. Snow will change over to sleet/rain far northern and western suburbs in the afternoon. Highs in the 30s SUNDAY: Partly sunny and breezy. Highs in the lower 40s. MONDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs mid 40s TUESDAY: Rain and a risk of thunderstorms. Damaging wind gusts are possible. Highs in the mid-50s. WTOP’s Will Vitka and Kate Corliss contributed to this report.

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