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Snow is leaving the D.C. area, but residents should bundle up for lingering cold conditions on Saturday. Here’s what you need to know.
Flakes are expected to stop falling at some point Saturday morning as “the final band of snow with the storm system” pushes east of Interstate 95 in Baltimore, according to WTOP Meteorologist Chad Merrill.
The storm system has left behind 2.2 inches of snow at BWI Marshall Airport, just over an inch at Dulles International and one-tenth of an inch at Reagan National, according to Merrill.
Any accumulation will “likely all melt before sunset today,” Merrill said. But cold temperatures and bitter winds will remain, with gusts expected to hit 30 mph between noon and 4 p.m. Saturday, he added.
“The shaded parking lots and driveways will be the only spots that will have to watch out for black ice overnight as temperatures drop below freezing across the entire DMV,” Merrill said.
Good news for local drivers this morning: rising regional temperatures and decreased snow totals, according to 7News First Alert Meteorologist Steve Rudin.
“You can’t have a lot of snow sticking to the ground with temperatures that far above freezing, but temperatures are going to drop” going into Saturday, he said. “That’s when the heaviest snow will fall.”
Plus, the wind and sun will “work in tandem” to dry the roads out by sunset, Merrill said.
In any event, counties across the area were ready for the snow, making changes to their activities and facilities schedules. Check out WTOP’s closings and delays listing for the latest.
As for Sunday, early morning temperatures may start off cold but should climb to the mid-40s.
How road crews are responding
Snowy weather isn’t all fun and games. It also means D.C.-area roads need to be treated.
Shantee Felix, with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration, told WTOP that crews are on top of it. The agency had about 2,200 pieces of equipment out Saturday morning, she said.
“We applied our pretreatment yesterday and the day before .. having this happen overnight when there aren’t a lot of cars on the road, particularly school buses, that’s helpful,” Felix said.
With temperatures expected to warm up around 10 a.m., Felix said the agency is anticipating some road impacts until then.
“We ask people who have delayed travel already if they can still continue to do so,” she said.
Felix said there has been one weather-related road closure so far: Maryland Route 197 at Powder Mill Road in Prince George’s County. She advised Maryland drivers to check the Maryland511 website for real-time road closure updates.
The George Washington Memorial Parkway North was closed from Interstate 495 to Spout Run due to severe winter weather, the National Park Service said. It reopened shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday.
Forecast:
SATURDAY: Sunny breaks, turning windy with gusts to 30 mph and snow melting and roads drying out. Highs in the middle 40s.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Clear and calm. Upper 20s downtown to upper teens in the far northwest suburbs.
SUNDAY: Sunny and warmer with gusts to 25 mph from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Highs in the low 50s
MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs in the 50s with lows in the 30s.
Current conditions:
WTOP’s Kate Corliss, Will Vitka and Ivy Lyons contributed to this report.
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