A winter snowstorm that began late Tuesday afternoon dropped between 4 to 6 inches of snow around Montgomery County by Wednesday morning, resulting in vehicle collisions, downed power lines and road closures.
Montgomery County government offices are open Wednesday while Montgomery County public schools and county courts are closed.
According to snowfall reports of 8 a.m. Wednesday from the National Weather Service, 6 inches of snow had been reported in Takoma Park and the Four Corners neighborhood of Silver Spring, 5.2 inches in Clarksburg, 5 inches in Gaithersburg, 4.9 inches in Rockville, 4.5 inches in Olney and 4.3 inches in Silver Spring.
The storm caused a slew of vehicle collisions across the county Tuesday evening as well as downed wires that led to closures of major roadways, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) spokesperson Pete Piringer.
From 6 to 10 p.m., MCFRS crews responded to 150 calls for service, the majority of which were for vehicle collisions, Piringer told Bethesda Today on Wednesday morning.
“Most of those [calls] were for wrecks, collisions and that sort of thing — a lot of overturned cars, lanes blocked,” he said. “Although traffic was generally lighter than normal for that time day of the week and time of day, we had a significant number of crashes.”
Those driving near downtown Silver Spring on Wednesday should be aware that 16th Street between East-West Highway and Colesville Road remained closed to traffic as of Wednesday morning because of downed wires, according to the county Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
The office posted at 6:50 a.m. on social media that the closure may persist through the morning commute and advised drivers to expect significant delays and alternate routes.
Downed wires also caused the closure Tuesday night of Route 29 at Columbia Pike and Greencastle Road in Burtonsville.
According to Piringer, the power lines fell around 8:30 p.m. near Blackburn Road, causing a traffic backup of a “couple hundred cars” that were unable to move because of the downed live wires.
“They had to wait for the power company to get there. I’d say it probably took a couple of hours – 11 o’clock, maybe 11:30 p.m. – we got most of the cars out of there,” Piringer said.
The Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination (MATOC) Program reported at 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, the incident was cleared, and travel lanes had reopened earlier Wednesday morning.
Two collisions resulting in injuries occurred Tuesday evening as the storm dropped heavy snow across the county.
One collision, which occurred around 9:45 p.m. at 18800 Mink Hollow Road near Ashton Road in Highland, involved an adult pedestrian who was struck by a passing vehicle while trying to pull another car out of a ditch, according to Piringer. MCFRS crews transported the pedestrian with non-life-threatening injuries to a local hospital.
In Derwood, MCFRS crews responded at around 9:20 p.m. to a single-vehicle collision in which a car struck a utility pole at Muncaster Mill and Avery roads, Piringer said. MCFRS crews transported the adult driver to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Closures
Montgomery County Public Schools are closed on Wednesday due to the winter storm, the district announced Tuesday afternoon. All schools and offices will be closed and all activities and child care programs on Wednesday are canceled.
The county’s circuit court is also closed due to the storm, State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a social media post Wednesday.
County government is open with an optional liberal leave available for non-essential cunty employees, according to a press release. Before visiting a government facility, residents are encouraged to call ahead to check for schedule changes.
County-run recreation programs are also impacted by the school closures, according to the release. All scheduled programs, classes and activities are canceled and facilities are open only for drop-in activities.
In addition, transportation and nutrition programs for seniors have been canceled as well, the release said. However, the county’s aquatic, recreation and senior centers were scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Trash and recycling collections provided by the county are canceled Wednesday and will resume on a sliding schedule, the release said. The last collection will take place Saturday.
For more information about the status of snow removal, closures, delays and winter weather tips, visit the county’s Winter Storm Information Portal.
Transportation
As of 6:15 a.m., the county Department of Transportation (MCDOT) provided an update on its storm operations, asking residents to avoid “unnecessary travel” to allow snow removal crews to service roadways.
Those who use public transportation can expect normal Metrorail and MetroAccess service but with weather-related delays and limited service with Metrobus. According to a press release, Metrobus will operate under a severe snow plan Wednesday with just 42 out of 193 bus routes operating.
“However, service is limited to major roads only and passengers should anticipate service delays, detours, and increased wait times,” the release said. For details about route detours and service, riders can visit wmata.com/severe.
The county’s Ride On Bus service will also operate on a “S” schedule, meaning weather-related delays and detours are possible.
According to a social media post, MCDOT crews were treating residential roads Wednesday morning, with some untreated roads remaining snow-covered. The post reported that emergency and primary roadways were “mainly wet with some slushy stretches.”
Wednesday forecast
During the day Wednesday, there will be a mix of “patchy snow” and freezing rain before 3 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The wintry mix will later turn into rain and sleet and eventually rain after 7 p.m.
In addition, with a high temperature of 34 degrees expected Wednesday, followed by a high of 50 degrees Thursday, much of the snow is expected to melt.
