Continuing Storm Coverage

Update 1 p.m.

Dominion Virginia Power is reporting outages in the following areas:

Lake Ridge (the hardest hit in the Potomac Communities) 1,475 customers without power

Mt. Vernon 755 customers without power.

After what was a light morning rush hour the roads are a slushy mess, but more importantly passable.

The past 24 hours have been a busy time for police officers in Prince William County, as they were called to 1,300 incidents. Police today are using unmarked vehicles to help them better navigate the slush-covered roads.

As for Virginia State Police, they been dealing with a rash of vehicles left abandoned on area roads.

The agency issued a statement this morning:

The greatest challenge for clearing the interstates Wednesday evening in Northern Virginia was the sheer volume of abandoned vehicles. Motorists were simply walking away from their vehicles – many of them being left still in the travel lane. This not only put the motorists-now-turned-pedestrians in danger of being struck while walking along the crowded and slippery roads and ramps, but also exacerbated the existing gridlock. The abandoned vehicles turned much of the interstates into parking lots, as tow trucks were stuck in the traffic and therefore could not get to the abandoned vehicles to remove them.

Between 9 a.m. Wednesday through 8 a.m. Thursday, Virginia State Police troopers assigned to the Fairfax Division handled 446 disabled/abandoned vehicles and 91 traffic crashes. The Virginia State Police Fairfax Division received 1,145 calls for service during that same time period.

Thursday morning troopers are still working to remove abandoned vehicles from the interstate shoulders and exit/on ramps throughout Northern Virginia.

If your vehicle was towed Wednesday or Thursday from an Interstate or Interstate exit ramp, then you will need to call the Virginia State Police Fairfax Division at 703-803-0026 or 703-803-0027. When calling Virginia State Police, please have your license plate number available in advance to provide the dispatcher. Virginia State Police utilized wrecker services all over Northern Virginia to expedite the process of clearing the roadways overnight and the vehicles are tracked in the system by license plate – only. Vehicles were towed at the owner’s expense.

For those vehicles towed on primary and secondary routes within the counties and cities, drivers will need to contact the local police or sheriff’s office to locate a vehicle.

Update 6:40 a.m.

Dominion Virginia Power reporting customers without power in the following areas:

Lake Ridge 1,987

Woodbridge 150

Lorton 150

Mt. Vernon 802

Update 11 p.m.
Winter storm warning canceled for Fairfax County. The Potomac Communities no longer under any weather advisories from the National Weather Service.

Update 10:25 p.m.
Fairfax County remains under a winter storm warning. Warnings canceled for Stafford, Prince William counties.

Update 10:15 p.m.
The latest check of area radar shows the majority of the snow about to move out of the area.

About 9 p.m., the roads in Woodbridge are passable as a wet snow continued to fall.
Plows were on the roads with few cars to deal with. It’s a stark contrast to this evening’s rush hour that saw massive delays.

Power outages also became a problem late into the evening, as more than 9,600 Dominion Virginia Power customers in Lake Ridge were without power.

Update 8 p.m.
Dominion reports power outages in the following areas:
755 customers in Mount Vernon
1,758 customers in Hybla Valley

7:30 p.m.
The snow continues to fall across the Potomac Communities, on top of what already is a layer of slush that has blanketed roads and sidewalks.

As for how much snow is falling, well, that depends on where you are.

In some places in Prince William County, the snow was so heavy and piling up so fast plows had problems keeping up with it. Drivers who were caught off guard ended up in ditches, their vehicles spinning out onto shoulders, and some on Prince William Parkway appeared to get involved in serious crashes.

No matter where you went during this afternoon’s rush hour there was gridlock on area roads. Many drivers in small sports cars found it hard to gain traction on slick roads, and some SUV drivers who appeared to traveling at a steady pace spun out, stalling drivers behind them.

The story in Stafford County was a bit different, as most roads there remained passable and the county had only one report of a minor power outage.

“I think with the government closing early, which eased some potential problems on the roads. As far as calls for help, our emergency call center is staying busy but we’re not seeing anything out of the normal,” said Stafford County spokeswoman Cathy Riddle.

Road Conditions
Plow trucks are out in force, some working side-by-side in what’s known as plow trains, working to clear the fast-accumulating snow.

And as snow piled up on the roads, the Virginia Department of Transportation said crews pre-treated the roads and highways prior to the storm, but the rain that fell before the snow washed some of the chemicals from the roadways.

“This storm couldn’t have hit at a worse time, during the afternoon rush hour. The rain also played a role in this storm. If we would have gotten snow right after we treated the roads, there would have been more of the pre-treatment chemical on the road,” said VDOT spokeswoman Jennifer McCord. “We’ve got crews out there right now, and they’ll continue to be out there plowing and treating the roads until well after the storm passes.”

Today in Northern Virginia, state police responded to 33 crashes and 45 disabled vehicles between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Two of the car crashes involved injured occupants, said Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

Forecast
The Potomac Communities remain under a winter storm warning until 4 a.m.

The National Weather Service says four to seven inches of snow could fall across the region by the time the storm moves out the about midnight.

Whatever falls is likely to refreeze, as temperatures will remain in the mid 20s to low 30s throughout the overnight hours.

While the heavy snows move across the area, visibility at times could be reduced to one-quarter mile or less, forecasters said.