Firefighters, utlility workers and road crews are hard at work Tuesday morning as the region awakens from an overnight snowfall.
While many local employees have the day off—with schools and government offices closed—emergency workers are dealing with minor incidents, including burst water pipes, people slipping and falling on snowy surfaces, and traffic accidents.
Firefighters responded to dozens of “water issues” involving bursting or leaking pipes in the county, including one in the 4800 block of Cordell Avenue and another at the Benihana restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue around 9 a.m. this morning, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services spokesman Pete Piringer. He said in a message on his Twitter account that the department has received nearly two times the number of calls it does on a typical day. Those calls include a number of slip and fall incidents, Piringer said.
Piringer also reported a number of minor collisions on area roads—including multiple accidents on the Beltway this morning–but none that resulted in serious injuries.
In Rockville, railroad track gates were stuck in the down position Tuesday morning at Randolph Road and Nebel Street. Montgomery County police said at 10 a.m. CSX is working to fix the gates and reminded residents to never go around railroad gates.
A broken sprinkler head at the Montgomery Blair High School greenhouse in Silver Spring on Monday created a frozen wall of ice extending down the greenhouse structure. County schools spokesman Dana Tofig told Montgomery Community Media that water was shut off to repair the sprinkler head and that there was no serious damage to the school building.
Ummmmmm it appears we might have frozen water issue at @MCPS Montgomery Blair. #GIANTICICLES pic.twitter.com/M2CepEFwrT
— Kenneth (@terp11) February 16, 2015
Spotters for the National Weather Service measured 2½ to 5 inches of snowfall in the county, with more snow falling in the southeastern parts compared to the northern and southwestern portions. Snowfall measurements throughout the state came in pretty close to the lower amounts predicted Monday by the weather service, with most areas receiving between 3 to 6 inches of snow compared to the 5 to 10 inches that had been forecast.
Snowfall estimates via the National Weather Service in southern Montgomery County.
The county’s snow plow progress map showed that many primary neighborhood roads had been plowed by 10:30 a.m., but most local roads were still being worked on. Major emergency and state roads all appeared to be cleared, according to the map.
So what’s it looking like out there? Here are some scenes from around the county:
