Heavy snow is forecast for the area on Thursday, and a Winter Storm Warning is in effect from late Wednesday night to Thursday night.
The key numbers: 6-10 inches. That’s the amount of snow accumulation the National Weather Service is predicting for Montgomery County.
Most of that snow will likely come from mid-morning Thursday to mid-afternoon.
Montgomery County Highway Services, the people who plow county roads, will activate the county’s Storm Operations Center at midnight.
County plows could have company from some of the 2,700 government personnel and contractors the State Highway Administration will have operating throughout the storm. That includes 2,400 pieces of equipment statewide. To date, the SHA has spent $95 million on winter operations and used 285,000 tons of salt.
The state will also put out six heavy-duty tow trucks on highways in the Baltimore and D.C. metro regions, in anticipation of disabled tractor trailers.
As for Metro, Metrobus service will be on a Moderate Snow Plan Thursday, meaning some routes will be suspended. Metrorail will operate as scheduled, though weather-related delays might happen.
Metro will have 771 employees assigned to snow-clearing efforts with 2,300 tons of salt ready to use on Metro roadways and parking lots. The transit agency also has 400,000 pounds of de-icer for sidewalks, station entrances and platforms. It claims it has 251 squeegees.
Jurisdictions such as D.C. and the City of Rockville have already declared Snow Emergencies for tomorrow. We’ll update this post if Montgomery County does the same.
As for a school closing, MCPS typically releases its snow day decisions shortly before 5 a.m. the day of storms.
But the school system will occasionally act before any snow hits the ground on the nights before expected snow events. It cancelled school for Feb. 17 on the night of Feb. 16. About 3.5 inches of snow fell in Bethesda, though other areas of the county saw more accumulation.
If school is cancelled Thursday, some students may not be happy for too long. MCPS has already had five no-school days because of weather, one more than the four inclement weather days built into the calendar.
A snow day Thursday (and another potentially coming on Friday) could mean two or three days are added to the school year in mid-June.
Via NWS, MCPS
