A mix of sleet and snow fell throughout the night in Montgomery County, leaving about 2 to 3 inches of slush and icy snow inside the Capital Beltway and causing local government and school closures.
The National Weather Service predicts the storm to continue throughout Tuesday morning. Rain falling during the morning is expected to turn back into snow by mid-morning. The snow is expected to fall until around noon. A winter weather advisory is in effect until 2 p.m.
As of 9 a.m., there were few significant issues related to the storm in the county. A truck struck a light pole in Gaithersburg Tuesday morning, knocking the pole over and blocking some lanes at the intersection of Firstfield and Clopper roads. The Red Line was single-tracking around 8 a.m. between Wheaton and Forest Glen stations as firefighters investigated a possible arcing insulator near the Wheaton station. Pepco reported less than 10 power outages in all of Montgomery County on its power outage map at 9 a.m.
Metro opened at 5 a.m. and was running trains on a Saturday schedule—every 12 minutes. All stations are open.
Montgomery County Public Schools are closed. The county government also is closed and County Executive Ike Leggett canceled his planned press conference to release his proposed fiscal 2018 operating budget. Tuesday’s County Council meeting has been postponed. The City of Rockville also closed its government offices. The county library system, which is closed, extended its due date for materials due today.
Federal government offices have delayed opening for three hours and employees are permitted to take unscheduled leave or telework.
Around 4 a.m., the Maryland State Highway Administration urged motorists to delay travel if possible, “Stay home [with] warm blankets and we’ll handle the roads,” SHA tweeted.
Maryland State Police reported its officers responded to 101 crashes and assisted with 60 disabled vehicles from 10 p.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday, but no fatalities or serious crashes were reported.
