Latest Forecast for Arlington; Closing, Outage Information

Update (1:41 p.m.): The National Weather Service is no longer showing a winter weather advisory for Arlington.

Arlington Public Schools continues to monitor conditions.

This afternoon should be partly sunny with a high near 33. Tonight, the low should be around 20 degrees.

Wednesday, the National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies and a high near 32.

As of 1:36 p.m., Dominion Virginia Power was reporting 273 customers in Arlington without power, out of a total of 86,134.

Update (11:08 a.m.):  From the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services:

• Trash/Recycling/Brush collection crews are performing collection services Tuesday.  If they are unable to get to certain streets because of the street conditions, they will go back and complete collection Wednesday.
• Bag leaf collection crews are out collecting leaves Tuesday. If crews are unable to get to certain streets because of the conditions, they will also go back and complete the collections Wednesday.
• Vacuum leaf collection has been canceled for Tuesday. Collection will resume in zone three Wednesday.
• Mulch deliveries for Tuesday have been rescheduled for Wednesday. Customers have been notified.

Update (10 a.m.): The latest forecast from the National Weather Service for Arlington calls for only 1 to 2 inches of snow to accumulate, a smaller amount than what was predicted Monday night.

Most of the snow should fall before 3 p.m.

The Winter Storm Warning issued Monday night has been canceled. Arlington remains under a winter weather advisory until 2 p.m.

Update (9:15 a.m.): Arlington County Schools are closed Tuesday.

Arlington County government is open Tuesday with some exceptions for Parks and Recreation programs. Arlington County courts are closed. ART buses will provide limited services. 

Plows deployed at 4 a.m. to begin treating primary and secondary roads.

More details are on the county website.

From the Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation:

Please note the following update regarding the status of DPR Facilities, programs and activities scheduled for Tuesday, December 10 listed below:

• All Enjoy Arlington classes and nature center programs are cancelled in County and school buildings.
• All sports activities, leagues and instructional programs in County and school buildings are cancelled.
• All Preschool programs are cancelled.
• All senior programs (including Walter Reed, Langston Brown and Arlington Mill nutrition sites) are cancelled.
• All community centers, including joint use facilities located at Carver, Drew, Gunston, Langston, and Thomas Jefferson will open on time as scheduled.

Please check the DPR Inclement Weather Tape (703) 228-4715) and email before heading out to your destination as things may change throughout the day as the weather situation progresses. 

The federal government is closed Tuesday.

Original article: Arlington won't be getting a break from winter weather just yet.

The National Weather Service on Monday night issued a new winter storm warning for much of the Washington metro area, including Arlington County, through 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Up to 6 inches of snow could accumulate, much of it starting after daybreak. Expect hazardous conditions for morning commutes.

Also expect a 100 percent chance of snow before 1 p.m. and a high near 33.

Arlington Public Schools closed Monday due to inclement weather but county offices remained open. Federal offices opened with a two-hour delay.

No decision had been made Monday night as to what would be open or closed on Tuesday. Arlington County officials and Arlington Public Schools planned a conference call at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday to sort that out.

The county will announce its decision on its website, Facebook page and Twitter account. The school system will do the same (here, here and here).

Diana Sun, Arlington's chief spokeswoman, told Patch in an email that safety is the county's No. 1 goal.

"If we know anything about weather, we know that it changes. It shifts. Often forecasters, are right … sometimes they are not. Sometimes the storm shifts slightly to the west, or north, etc., and misses us entirely," she said in an email.

"It would be great if we could have 1000% clarity on the weather forecast, etc. In the meantime, we do the best we can, with the information we have available to us. We do like to open our facilities if we feel they can be opened safely."

All public schools in Fairfax and Prince William counties announced Monday night that they would be closed Tuesday.

Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia echoed Sun's sentiments: "We follow the forecasts and road conditions closely, and we communicate regularly with our regional and county partners. We will continue to work to make decisions that ensure student safety."

Snow and subsequent ice Sunday and early Monday knocked out power to about 130,000 Dominion Power customers in Northern Virginia. By Monday night, regional outages were down to about 30,000, but the electric company was bracing for Round 2 of winter weather and said outages could be a "multi-day event."

To report or check the status of an outage, click here or call 866-DOM-HELP (866-366-4357).

More:

• Dominion: Power Outages Could be 'Multi-Day Event'
• National Weather Service Issues New Winter Storm Watch
• Tips for Driving on Slick Roads
• Stay Safe When the Power is Out

Facebook | Twitter | Daily & Breaking News E-mail Updates