Region scrambles ahead of major storm 5FEB10

Ashley Halsey III
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 5, 2010; 6:36 AM

Wind-driven snow will begin to pelt the region with the ferocity of a summer thunderstorm Friday, according to forecasts, accumulating at a rate of three inches an hour during the worst of it and piling up more than two feet deep before it's over.

As the big storm bore down on the region and the record books, people surrendered to what seemed inevitable, preparing to shut down virtually everything that didn't need to be open. If form follows forecast, the snow will begin Friday morning, continue to fall well into Saturday and leave Sunday for the big dig-out and the Super Bowl.

Highway crews rolled out for their third all-hands deployment of the winter season, pre-treating roads and positioning plows and salt trucks, fully aware that nothing in their arsenal can keep pace with snow falling at two to three inches an hour.

"It's just going to be a continual plowing operation and keeping up the best we can," said Kellie Boulware of Maryland's State Highway Administration. "It's going to be a long weekend."

Winter-weary and weather-wise after an abundance of snow this season, residents trudged through the routine of stockpiling groceries and lining up at the gas pump to top off the tank. Facing the prospect of being home alone for the Super Bowl, many dropped by the liquor store.

The region's biggest employer ¿ the federal government ¿ said workers could take unscheduled leave Friday. Those federal employees who do come to work will be allowed to leave four hours early, the government said. and held open the possibility that all federal offices would close early Friday. Most local governments also offered leave or early closures. For the first time in 40 years, the Virginia legislature canceled all meetings during its annual session. The World Bank declared Friday a snow holiday "in the interest of staff safety."

School officials wrestled with the problem that most were out of snow days, before acknowledging the risk of sending school bus fleets out into a blizzard. There were myriad announcements of closings and early dismissals. Fairfax County was the first to cancel classes down in advance of the first snowflake, but Alexandria and Manassas and Spotsylvania, Arlington, Stafford, St. Mary's, Culpeper, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania and Charles counties quickly followed.

D.C. schools will close at noon; Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Howard and Anne Arundel schools are dismissing two to three hours early.

The storm will ride in on fierce winds and could produce thunder, said Dan Stillman of The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang|http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/. "It's going to be about as intense as you can get around here," he said. "An inch per hour or two inches may be more typical, but you could get up to three inches an hour for several hours."

The Capital Weather Gang said the snow probably would begin between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., intensifying through the afternoon and falling hard most of the night before tapering off Saturday afternoon and evening.

It would be just the third time in almost 60 years that the region has experienced two snowfalls in excess of 10 inches in one season.

Metro anticipated that snow and ice would impede bus service and was prepared to close aboveground portions of Metrorail once snowfall reached eight inches on the tracks and began to cover the electrified third rail.

Amtrak canceled some train service along the Eastern Seaboard for Friday and truncated the routes of other trains.

Airlines relaxed ticketing restrictions to help passengers who might otherwise be stranded, and they advised fliers to check before heading to the airports. "As in the last storm, we are still able to make adjustments as the storm comes along," said Rob Yingling, spokesman for Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority|http://www.metwashairports.com/.. anticipating the struggle to clear runways and de-ice planes.

Lines were long at local airports Friday morning, as passengers rushed to get out of the area before the first flakes fell.

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) declared that a snow emergency would be in effect beginning at 9:30 a.m. Friday, requiring residents to move vehicles parked on snow emergency routes to make clearing the roads easier.

The big message from the agencies tasked with plowing the roads was that people should stay home.

The brisk business at supermarkets Thursday indicated that many people planned to do just that. At a Harris Teeter grocery on Capitol Hill lines grew longer than normal at the cash registers.

"I'm being patient. It's not so bad," said Stacy Brophy, 38, as she stood in line with a cart full of bottled water, milk, tortilla rounds and other items.

Brophy, of Capitol Hill, said she put off shopping until the night before the big snowstorm in December and spent 261/27 hours in the store. "After the last ordeal, I was like, 'Never again,'." Brophy said.

At the Giant on Silver Hill Road in Suitland, snow prep was mixed up with the other big event scheduled to dominate the weekend: Super Bowl partying.

"My grandmother already keeps a closet full of toilet paper. I'm here for wings and sodas," said Vel Simmons, 31, of Largo. In her cart were food and soft drinks for a football party. "My brother is calling me like every five minutes: 'Get some chips. Get some ranch dip.' I don't know if anybody's going to make it to the house, but we're going to have enough food to survive two blizzards."

In Fairfax, crowds started gathering before dawn Thursday at the Safeway in the Belle View Shopping Center, stocking up for the snow and their Super Bowl parties. By midday, managers were handing out cookies to harried shoppers; Duraflame logs and ice melt pellets were running low; bananas were all gone; and the lines at all nine checkout counters were backed up into the aisles.

Safeway spokesman Craig M. Muckle pointed out that one thing shoppers will not find at area Safeway stores are snow shovels. "We sold out in December," he said.

The search for tools to battle the snow also proved futile At the Lowe's Home Improvement store in Largo, a sign said, "Sorry out of shovels and salt," but that didn't stop people from flocking in to ask for shovels and salt.

Some school districts are worrying that they'll have to lengthen the school year. In Maryland and Virginia, schools need to be in session for at least a half-day to avoid tallying a snow day. In Maryland, many school systems have taken four snow days this academic year ¿ all they had in their schedules. which is the maximum many have built into their schedules.

In Montgomery County, which has used all four of its snow days, educators will extend the school year if more days are needed, schools spokesman Dana Tofig said. Prince George's County has one day left, after which officials would extend the school year, spokeswoman Tanzi Wes said.

D.C. public schools have not used any snow days this year.

In Anne Arundel County, the schools have used their four snow days this year, and officials have put in a request to the state to waive two of those days, said Maneka S. Monk, a spokeswoman for the school system.

That might be tough, said William Reinhard, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Education. "We take very seriously the 180-day school requirement," he said. "I don't think there's anybody out there who'd suggest that American kids go to school for too many days."