Listening to the news and reviewing the data & maps, this is setting up to be a HUGE Storm for our area - Snow totals, some are saying 12-22 inches, depening upon who you believe.


Just in case, I got our Snowblower ready! 11hp, 30" cut, it gets the job done. AWD Jeep, ready to go! Hopefully, 99% of this county will stay home Tues. morning!

Any Fairfax-Underground guesses on how much snow is going to drop??


Here is Accuweather's version:

i feel like were gonna get missed like usual

Fairfax is always (ALWAYS) right on the border between 2 + ft blizzard, and rain/sleet.

Fauquier would always get the blizzard and my shitlucked ass would be waking up to my rain slicked driveway in Fairfax city.

You must all immediately rush to your nearest grocery store and buy as much toilet paper and bread as you can possibly fit into your car.

...and milk. Must stock milk.

Much is going to depend on the temperature... over the last two days I have checked the forecast on NOAA's Web site and it has flipped from snow to rain and back a couple of times.

Yep. I have also seen wintry mix predictions. Me personally, I need an excuse to get a snowblower, so I'd be happy to get 2 feet of snow, have everything closed for a week

Now they are saying there will be a lot of warm air out of texas so there may be more rain than snow. I can stand anything except ice. I hate ice storms. Anyway, if I was a FCPS student, I would do my homework on Monday night. But then I am not a weatherman.

Trickie

Just doesn't feel like winter without a big storm. I sure would like to see us get a ton. I remember winters around here when I was a kid, getting 2 + feet. I miss those days.

Just in case anyone is interested, this is the latest message that went out to the Fairfax County CEAN list earlier today. It is the latest in a series of messages with increasing emphasis on a "high impact winter event". No prediction regarding accumulation, however.

The National Weather Service reports a Winter Storm Watch for Fairfax County.

Description: ...WINTER STORM WATCH NOW IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY EVENING THROUGH
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON... A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING OUT OF THE PLAINS STATES AND
DEVELOPING OFF THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES WILL AFFECT THE MID
ATLANTIC EARLY THIS WEEK. FOR NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA...EASTERN WEST
VIRGINIA...MARYLAND WEST OF THE BAY...AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA... LIGHT
PRECIPITATION WILL BEGIN MONDAY AFTERNOON AND MONDAY EVENING. LIGHT SNOW WILL
DOMINATE NORTHERN VIRGINIA...MUCH OF EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA... AND ALL EXCEPT
SOUTHERN MARYLAND. MEANWHILE...CENTRAL VIRGINIA AND SOUTHERN MARYLAND WILL
LIKELY SEE A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS AT THE ONSET OF PRECIPITATION. A
SIGNIFICANT WINTER PRECIPITATION EVENT IS EXPECTED OVER THE MID ATLANTIC FROM
LATE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. TUESDAY LATE AFTERNOON AND TUESDAY
NIGHT IN PARTICULAR WILL SEE HEAVY PRECIPITATION AS THE COASTAL LOW PASSES BY
JUST OFFSHORE. THE AMOUNT OF COLD AIR OVER THE REGION WILL BE THE DETERMINING
FACTOR AS TO WHAT THE PRECIPITATION TYPE IS...IN ANY ONE LOCATION. THERE IS
STILL GREAT UNCERTAINTY AS TO THE AMOUNT OF COLD AIR THAT WILL BE OVER THE
REGION AT THE TIME OF THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION. NONETHELESS...A
SIGNIFICANT...HIGH IMPACT...WINTER WEATHER EVENT APPEARS LIKELY FOR MUCH OF THE
REGION. IT IS IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THOSE WITH TRAVEL PLANS...DECISION
MAKERS...AND PLANNERS SHOULD VERY CLOSELY MONITOR FORECASTS TONIGHT AND MONDAY.
OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS...DETAILS ABOUT THE AMOUNTS AND TIMING OF PRECIPITATION
TYPES WITH THIS WINTER STORM SYSTEM WILL BECOME MORE CLEAR. A WINTER STORM WATCH
MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS
THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS. STAY TUNED TO
NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLET THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE
WEEKEND FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ON THIS WINTER WEATHER EVENT.

Now they are saying there will be

HEard on the radio that we cant know until MOnday night the snow accumulation totals. (That way they cant get yelled at if the forcast 3 feet and we get a flood of rain and schools close for no reason)

I hate rain.

I hate this cold weather. I just booked a flight to fort Lauderdale for a week. I am going to leave next Monday on JetBlue. Thank goodness for cheap airfares. I need a tan too.

Trickie

This is what Yahoo Weather shows for Herndon:


Tonight: Cloudy. Snow likely late. Low near 30F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.

Tomorrow: Periods of mixed winter precipitation. Cold. High 31F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 90%. Snow and ice accumulations less than one inch.

Tomorrow night: A mixture of wintry precipitation in the evening. Then mainly freezing rain overnight. Low 23F with temps rising to near freezing. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday: Wintry mix of precipitation. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the mid teens.

Well, so much for the "major winter event", although it looks like ski areas like Wisp, Whitetail and Liberty will finally get some real snow.

Lester Burnham Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, so much for the "major winter event",
> although it looks like ski areas like Wisp,
> Whitetail and Liberty will finally get some real
> snow.

I predict - and just a guess - is we will will have a lot more ice and that wet slushy stuff than the light fluffy stuff.

I got my weather radio out. Here it is people - straight from NOAA

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
1130 AM EST MON FEB 12 2007

DCZ001-MDZ003>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-501-502-VAZ021-025>031-
036>042-050>057-WVZ050>055-501>504-122200-
/O.CON.KLWX.WS.A.0001.070213T1200Z-070214T1900Z/
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA-WASHINGTON-FREDERICK MD-CARROLL-
NORTHERN BALTIMORE-HARFORD-MONTGOMERY-HOWARD-SOUTHERN BALTIMORE-
PRINCE GEORGES-ANNE ARUNDEL-CHARLES-ST. MARYS-CALVERT-
EXTREME WESTERN ALLEGANY-CENTRAL AND EASTERN ALLEGANY-HIGHLAND-
AUGUSTA-ROCKINGHAM-SHENANDOAH-FREDERICK VA-PAGE-WARREN-CLARKE-
NELSON-ALBEMARLE-GREENE-MADISON-RAPPAHANNOCK-FAUQUIER-LOUDOUN-
ORANGE-CULPEPER-PRINCE WILLIAM/MANASSAS/MANASSAS PARK-FAIRFAX-
ARLINGTON/FALLS CHURCH/ALEXANDRIA-STAFFORD-SPOTSYLVANIA-
KING GEORGE-HAMPSHIRE-MORGAN-BERKELEY-JEFFERSON-PENDLETON-HARDY-
WESTERN GRANT-EASTERN GRANT-WESTERN MINERAL-EASTERN MINERAL-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WASHINGTON...HAGERSTOWN...FREDERICK...
WESTMINSTER...GAITHERSBURG...COLUMBIA...BALTIMORE...ANNAPOLIS...
WALDORF...ST MARYS CITY...FROSTBURG...CUMBERLAND...STAUNTON...
WAYNESBORO...HARRISONBURG...WINCHESTER...FRONT ROYAL...
CHARLOTTESVILLE...LEESBURG...CULPEPER...MANASSAS...
MANASSAS PARK...FAIRFAX...ALEXANDRIA...FALLS CHURCH...
FREDERICKSBURG...MARTINSBURG...CHARLES TOWN...BAYARD...
PETERSBURG...EMORYVILLE...HARTMANSVILLE...KEYSER...FORT ASHBY
1130 AM EST MON FEB 12 2007

...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY MORNING
THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...

A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY MORNING
THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP OVER NORTHERN TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON.
THE LOW WILL MOVE NORTHEAST INTO THE TENNESSEE VALLEY ON TUESDAY
AND INTO THE OHIO VALLEY TUESDAY NIGHT. MEANWHILE...A SECONDARY
LOW WILL DEVELOP TUESDAY NIGHT OFF THE COAST OF THE CAROLINAS AND
MOVE UP THE EASTERN SEABOARD WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. THE
COMBINATION OF THE TWO LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS WILL SPREAD A VARIETY
OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION INTO THE REGION FROM MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH
WEDNESDAY.

THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT WINTER PRECIPITATION CONTINUES FOR
THE MID ATLANTIC TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. LATEST INDICATIONS
CONTINUE TO SUGGEST WARM AIR A FEW THOUSAND FEET ABOVE THE
SURFACE WILL BE DRAWN INTO THE SYSTEM TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT...
CREATING THE POTENTIAL FOR A SIGNIFICANT FREEZING RAIN EVENT AS
SURFACE TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN BELOW FREEZING.

AT THE TIME OF PRECIPITATION ONSET...LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW WILL
DOMINATE OVER NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VIRGINIA...THE EASTERN
PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA...THE POTOMAC HIGHLANDS AND LOWER
SOUTHERN MARYLAND. PRECIPITATION WILL BEGIN LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING IN THE HIGHLANDS AND SPREAD EASTWARD. THE
PRECIPITATION TYPE IS EXPECTED TO CHANGE OVER TO SNOW AND SLEET
TONIGHT. ON TUESDAY...SNOW AND SLEET WILL CHANGE TO FREEZING RAIN
OVER MOST AREAS BY THE AFTERNOON. OVER LOWER SOUTHERN MARYLAND...
FREEZING RAIN MAY CHANGE OVER TO ALL RAIN LATE TUESDAY NIGHT.

SNOW AND SLEET POTENTIAL OVERNIGHT MONDAY INTO TUESDAY COULD
TOTAL ONE TO TWO INCHES BY TUESDAY MORNING IN THE POTOMAC
HIGHLANDS WITH AROUND AN INCH EXPECTED ELSEWHERE. TUESDAY AND
TUESDAY NIGHT...SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OF FREEZING RAIN ARE
LIKELY ACROSS MOST OF REGION. TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO REMAIN
BELOW FREEZING FROM MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING...WITH
THE EXCEPTION OF LOWER SOUTHERN MARYLAND.

THOSE WITH TRAVEL PLANS...DECISION MAKERS...AND PLANNERS SHOULD
CLOSELY MONITOR FORECASTS FOR UPDATES. ACCUMULATING FREEZING RAIN
WILL CAUSE TRAVEL PROBLEMS AND POWER OUTAGES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLET FOR
THE LATEST UPDATES ON THIS WINTER WEATHER EVENT.

$$

SMITH

We'll see. IT all depends on the air temperature and whether that warm air gets pulled in. The ground is cold, so freezing rain if the warm air comes in. OTherwise, a boatload of snow! Less likley.

The whole deal has been upgraded to winter storm waring, but were gonan get more ice then snow, unfortunatley. Get ready to see everyone crashing b/c NOTHING will help you on ice besides studded snow tires. Who here has those?

"Who here has those?"

No one. I think they were illegal to use on public roads, not 100% sure, but I believe so.

I have caterpillar tracks on my civc. Yeahhhh

studded snow tires wont do jack shit in ice

Federal government just said they are shutting down at 2 today.
It is raining.

Makes perfect sense to me.

Resident Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> studded snow tires wont do jack shit in ice


The whole point of studded snow tires is so that you will be able to have some mesure of control over ice.

Right... the idea of the studded tire is to bite into the ice and provide resistance where none existed before. They may help but still aren't a cure for improper driving in icy conditions.

I haven't seen studded tires in like 30 years...do they still make them? The ones I remember were bias ply (non-radial) snow tires that had the stud holes molded in, but the actual studs were put in by the tire retailer.

The ones I remember were bias ply (non-radial) snow tires that had the stud holes molded in, but the actual studs were put in by the tire retailer.

Those are the kind I remember. They got banned in the Poconos back in the 80s, I can remember people yanking them out with needlenose pliers in order to comply. I thought they were completely banned everywhere.

The poster who said they'd do "jack shit on ice" is wrong, tires like that definitely have more traction and stopping grip on slippery road surfaces, I've driven with them. But you still have to drive slowly and carefully. It's not like they were a cure for ice, they just helped.

Its 11:15 pm Tuesday night. THe following school districts have made the descion to close schools on Wed, Feb 14:

Prince Willam Cnty
Manassass/M Park
Faquier
Shannadoh
Culpepper
Loudoun
Madison
Rhappahanok
Stafford
Washington Cnty

The folowing have their heads shoved up their asses:
Prince Georges
FAIRFAX COUNTY
Montgomery partially-will announce at 5 am


The forcast now calls for an ice storm all tomarow, including high wind after noon. Get ready for downed trees and power outages. JUSt remmeber, NY has 10 feet of snow already and is now getting a blizzard again.

THere are some interesting things of note here. First, blizzard of 2006 was on Feb 11-13. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blizzard_of_2006 14 inches of snow with freezing rain at the end took out a lot of power.


Second, BLizzard of 2003 (week off school) was over presidents day, Feb. 15-18. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blizzard_of_2003
In that, KEntucky/Tennesee got an ice storm while VA-MA got a huge snowstorm. In todays storm, WE are getting an ice storm whil NY gets a huge snowstorm. See the connection? Is there a trend?

Third, blizzard of 1996, 24.6 inches of snow. This was January 6-8, however.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/2007 11:41PM by KeepOnTruckin.

Has anyone seen a VDOT snowplow in their neighborhood? I understand that the priority is main roads like 123 and Braddock, but school is never going to reopen if we have 4-6 inches of rutted and frozen wintry mix on our streets. There is, at best, one travel lane on most roads and the fact the people park in the street instead of their driveway makes it more difficult to clear.

main roads like 123

123 around Tysons was pretty good around 7 tonite. The side streets were very slushy, but they weren't any worse than last year's storms.

I don't know if they were V-DOT, but there were trucks plowing around here all day. Not too much on the side streets, but the main streets are drivable.

TheMeeper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't know if they were V-DOT, but there were
> trucks plowing around here all day. Not too much
> on the side streets, but the main streets are
> drivable.


That was really my point since the condition side streets in the neighborhoods seem to be what drives FCPS' decision regarding school. If the buses cannot safely get from bus stop to bus stop, it really does not matter what condition the main roads are in.

Right now, most of Middleridge and Kings Park West are frozen minefields that could be made better with a pass from a plow to smooth things out.

If you want to guarantee the arrival of a snow plow, just carefully shovel your driveway where it meets the street. As you throw the last shovelful to the side, listen for a low-pitched rumble...it's the plow! And voila...you will now have another mountain of snow to shovel!

At least that's how it works (without fail) on my side street in North Springfield. (Actually I got TWO passes from the plow yesterday!)

Kings Park west is a minefield no matter the weather. What a dump.

My neighborhood has yet to be plowed and it is a major bus route. Looks like my kids may get another day off.

btw Loudon has closed already.

This is why there was no school. Thats ice and none of those cars are making it up the hill. Excatly why 2WD cars with front drive wheels suck in this area.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2007 08:55PM by KeepOnTruckin.
Attachments:

Still no school closures and we're running out of winter. This sucks.

Well there is always the fine fish, chips and slaw at Arthur Treacher's and that most definitely does not suck.

Is it Timmy slaw?

How did this get bumped up to 2017? This thread was from 2007!