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From: District Wire

Live blog: Post-Snowzilla; AU, federal government closed Tuesday

More details on AU's closing tomorrow

Monday 10:15 PM

From AU Alert:

"Shuttle Services: AU Shuttle Bus will not operate. 

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Dining: TDR will open at 9 a.m. All other food/dining facilities will open pending staffing.

Bender Library is open from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Bookstore is closed.

Student Health Center is closed. 

Jacobs Fitness Center (Sports Center) is open from 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. and Cassell Fitness Center is open from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

Washington College of Law: Pence Law Library will be closed. The WCL Community may have access 24/7 with their AU ID. Students needing reference services should send it to reflib@wcl.american.edu." 

AU, FEDS CLOSED TUESDAY

Monday 9:41 PM


Update 9:46 PM: Federal government also closed.


Three Circulator routes running tomorrow

Monday 8:00 PM

The District Department of Transportation says three of their D.C. Circulator bus lines will operate on Tuesday, running every 20 minutes. Service will only go from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ("unless conditions warrant an earlier time," their statement notes.)

The routes running tomorrow: 

— Georgetown – Union Station

— Woodley Park – Adams Morgan – McPherson Square

— Potomac Avenue – Skyland

Also, DDOT said Capital Bikeshare will remain closed tomorrow. 

D.C. Public Schools closed tomorrow; city government open

Monday 5:33 PM

Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a press conference that D.C. Public Schools will be closed tomorrow, but that they're confident of a Wednesday reopening. Bowser also announced the D.C. government will open on time. 

More info:

— No trash pickup until Thursday.

— Officials said the main roads are now "passable." Now focus on secondary streets.

Full Metrorail service tomorrow—except Silver Line

Monday 4:20 PM

Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld has announced Metrorail will open at 5 a.m. Tuesday with service on all stations except the Silver Line. Trains will run every 12 minutes. In addition, Wiedefeld said Metrobus service has been upgraded from "lifeline" to "severe." Still partial service. Fares will be charged tomorrow. 

As of 4 p.m., Green Line service from Fort Totten to Greenbelt has been restored. Here's the latest service map:

Now we wait for Mayor Muriel Bowser's press conference at 5 p.m. to learn about the operating status for D.C. Public Schools and D.C. government tomorrow. 

Metro rail service as of 3 p.m.

Monday 3:04 PM

Metro restoring parts of aboveground service on Blue, Yellow lines

Monday 2:41 PM

Just in from Metro:

"Metro will restore aboveground service to Reagan National Airport between Largo Town Center and Huntington on the Blue Line and between Mt. Vernon Square and Huntington on the Yellow Line beginning at 3:00 p.m. today. Customers should be advised that Braddock Road Station is closed." 

More info.

NBC4's Adam Tuss reports that Metro will not be free tomorrow. Looks like they're gearing up to restore most (if not all) service.

Washington Post's Paul Duggan  reports Metro is hoping for a fully opened rail system tomorrow:

"Metro spokesman Dan Stessel says that in addition to the 24 mostly outdoor stations that were reopened at 11 a.m., the transit agency tentatively plans to reopen several more this afternoon and is 'hoping for' a fully open rail system for Tuesday. But he could not be sure. And if the system does entirely reopen, the wait times for trains could still be longer than normal, he said."

Decision on D.C. schools, government coming 5 p.m.

Monday 2:15 PM

At her morning news conference, Mayor Muriel Bowser said "We are working very hard today to get D.C. government open tomorrow." A decision on D.C. Public Schools and the government will come by her 5 p.m. news conference. Bowser also said regular trash pick-up service will likely not resume until Thursday. The city is still under a snow emergency and a state of emergency.

Current Metrorail service

Monday 2:10 PM

Here's a map of the current Metro service available. At 11 a.m., WMATA opened up some aboveground service on the Red, Orange, and Green lines. Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld will give an announcement on service changes at 4 p.m. this afternoon. 

City needs volunteers to serve food for DCPS kids

Sunday 9:37 PM

If you've got time on your hands tomorrow, consider helping serve breakfast and lunch for D.C. Public School students and their families. Although schools are closed Monday, many kids rely on free meals from school, so the city has 10 locations across town handing out meals from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Here's more info courtesy Anthony Cassillo, from Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh's office:

"DCPS needs volunteers to help serve breakfast and lunch to children and families at 10 schools across the District from 10:00 am - 2:00pm tomorrow, Jan 25. The schools where volunteers are needed are below.

Anacostia High School, 1601 16th Street, SE

Ballou High School, 3401 4th Street, SE

Brookland Middle School, 1150 Michigan Avenue, NE

Cardozo Education Campus, 1200 Clifton Street, NW

Columbia Heights Education Campus, 3101 16th Street, NW

Coolidge High School, 6315, 5th Street, NW

Eastern High School, 1700 East Capital Street, NE

Jefferson Middle School Academy, 801 7th Street, SW  

McKinley Technology High School, 151 T Street, NE

H.D. Woodson High School, 540 55th Street, NE

If you are available, please contact maia.estes@dc.gov."


'Hard refreeze' tonight for entire area

Sunday 6:51 PM

HARD REFREEZE tonight...lows from 1 degree in our colder suburbs to 10-15 downtown DC. Any meltage today ices over.

Posted by Capital Weather Gang on Sunday, January 24, 2016

Monday morning Mayor Muriel Bowser and city officials will give an update on the city's snow removal.

Federal government closed Monday

Sunday 5:52 PM

The Office of Personnel Management announced that the federal government will be closed Monday. 

From their  website:

"FEDERAL OFFICES in the Washington, DC area are CLOSED. Emergency and telework-ready employees required to work must follow their agency's policies, including written telework agreements."

More info on AU operating status: No shuttle bus service, limited dining service

Sunday 5:50 PM

AU has released more detailed info on its operating status for tomorrow, besides the fact that school is closed. 

From the University:

Shuttle Services: AU Shuttle Bus will not operate. 

Dining: TDR will open at 9 a.m. All other food/dining facilities will open pending staffing.

Library: Bender Library is open from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Fitness: Jacobs Fitness Center (Sports Center) is open from 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. and Cassell Fitness Center is open from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

Washington College of Law: Pence Law Library will be closed. The WCL Community may have access 24/7 with their AU ID. Students needing reference services should send it to reflib@wcl.american.edu. 

Their statement notes that students should be prepared for makeup class dates and/or virtual meetings. "Classes will not meet in person, however[,] coursework may continue."

Read full statement.

D.C. government closed on Monday; officials urge continued caution on roadways

Sunday 5:35 PM


Mayor Bowser updates the press Sunday afternoon at the Frank D. Reeves Center of Municipal Affairs ( YouTube screenshot/Washington Post)

The D.C. government will be closed on Monday, Mayor Muriel Bowser said at an afternoon press conference, while urging residents to remain home.

"We're making a lot of progress," the mayor began her remarks, but later added: "[There's] still a lot more to do. ... With the temperature dropping tonight ... we will see continued slick and dangerous roadways. So continue to stay off of the road."

Trash will not be picked up on Monday or Tuesday, the mayor said. With D.C. public and charter schools closed tomorrow, Bowser said 10 locations across the city will offer students free breakfast and lunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ( Info at snow.dc.gov.) 

Officials also announced the District suffered the first fatality of the storm. A 82-year-old man died after going into cardiac arrest while shoveling snow. 

Bowser urged businesses to clear their sidewalks. "We want all of our commercial corridors to be open for business," she said. 

Metro restoring limited bus, rail service on Monday

Sunday 3:30 PM

Metro will open 7 a.m. on Monday with "limited underground service" on the Red, Orange and Green lines, it announced Sunday. Fares will not be charged on Monday for rail and bus service, Metro also said. Trains will run every 20-25 minutes; a press release notes service levels may be upgraded throughout the day if conditions improve. The system will close at midnight.

For Metrobus, service — limited to only 22 routes — will run Monday from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. Many routes will operate on snow emergency routes.

Service info from press release:

RAIL:

Orange Line: Ballston to Eastern Market only

Red Line: Medical Center to Union Station only

Green Line: Fort Totten to Anacostia

BUS:

D.C.: 32, 33, 36, 53, 70, 90, A6, A8, P12, S4, U8, X2

Update 7:07 PM: Here's a map of the limited Metrorail service on Monday. Imagine if our Metro system was this small everyday? 

Full press release and info here.

AU CLOSED MONDAY

Sunday 2:34 PM

AU will be closed Monday.

Will AU shut down tomorrow?

Sunday 2:07 PM

#KancelItKerwin is on the minds of most folks this Sunday, as the city gets around to digging out of this snow. How likely is it for AU to shut down? The school will make their decision by 6 a.m. Monday, but it'll likely come before that. Few things to consider:

— Snow has frozen over. With temperatures hovering around or below freezing, any melting will be gradual. Secondary roads, especially outside of D.C. where many professors live, will be tough to drive through as plows focus on clearing the main thoroughfares. 

— Metro. If Metro remains shut down — or runs with partial service — it's likely AU would close. Many people still rely on getting to campus with transit. 

— Area schools are closed Monday. Many area schools have already decided to close tomorrow, including D.C. Public Schools, which bodes well for an AU shut down. 

— Federal government. If the federal government closes — decision to come by tonight — you can bet AU will be too.  

Should D.C. have paid its snow shoveling team of residents?

Sunday 1:10 PM

This winter, the District is relying on a team of 2,000 volunteer residents to shovel snow across town. The D.C. Resident Snow Team is focusing on clearing sidewalks for the seniors and disabled Washingtonians. Meanwhile, in New York City, residents are paid $13.50 to shovel snow. 

In other news: Mayor Muriel Bowser and city officials will give an update on snow removal at 5 p.m.

Time to dig out; D.C. Public Schools closed Monday

Sunday 12:50 PM

Mayor Muriel Bowser updates the press at the Fort Totten Snow Dome Sunday morning ( YouTube screenshot).

Snowzilla has come and gone, dumping 24 inches of snow in some parts of town. Upper Northwest was particularly hard hit, the chief of D.C.'s homeland security agency said at a press conference Saturday afternoon. 

"It's Sunday, and the sun is out in Washington, D.C.!" Mayor Muriel Bowser began her press update this morning.

Bowser said the city has received 400 pieces of equipment today — plows, bobcats, and dump trucks. "This will more than triple our snow removal equipment," she said.

Bowser again asked residents to stay off the streets in order for crews to do their work. "We will aggressively ticket you and tow your vehicle" if it gets stuck and impedes crews on the roads, the mayor said. 

Closures:

— D.C. Public Schools will be closed on Monday, Bowser announced. Metro will give an update on their service for Monday later today. 

Metro has now shut down; planned to reopen Monday

Friday 11:00 PM

As per planned, Metrorail has now shut down and will remain so this entire weekend. Metrobus service suspended earlier today at 5 p.m.

Heavy snow moving into area; storm to continue through all of Saturday

Friday 10:24 PM

The National Weather Service says the area can expect to see snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches an hour soon, as winds also pick up. Parts of the city are reporting 5 inches of snow on the ground, including at AU in upper Northwest. The District could get 30 inches in total before everything is set and done.

About 5 inches of snow at AU recorded

Friday 10:10 PM

District Wire's Casey Wexler reports AU has received about 5 inches of snow so far. "It will be 7 soon, I'll tell you that," she says.

She snapped these pics around campus: 

Pictures around the 'hood from Friday evening

Friday 8:50 PM

Photos by Cuneyt Dil

No cars: Looking north on Wisconsin Avenue NW in Tenleytown, Z-Burger on the right.

On Van Ness St NW around 7:30 PM, Connecticut Avenue one block ahead.

City officials giving winter storm update Saturday morning

Update 8:30 PM

Just in from the mayor's office:

"Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., Mayor Muriel Bowser and administration officials will host a press conference at the Frank D. Reeves Center of Municipal Affairs to give an update on the District’s response to this week’s blizzard."

The war room:


Residents won't be fined for not clearing their sidewalks this storm

Friday 8:26

Casey Wexler reports: 

"D.C. residents will be subject to new regulations this snow season, but not for this weekend’s snow storm. 'We don’t expect to issue tickets during this snow event,' Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a press conference Thursday morning." 

Read the full story.

Watch a live stream of the snow from the Capitol

Friday 2:02 PM

This is neat: House Speaker Paul Ryan has a running live stream of the snowfall from his office balcony. (What's with that music, though?)

Mayor Bowser, officials to give snow update

Friday 1:45 PM

Today at 5 p.m. Mayor Muriel Bowser and city officials will give an update on the city's storm preparation. 

BREAKING: It's snowing in D.C.

Friday 1:30 PM

The first flakes of this monster storm are here.

Capital Weather Gang says heavy snow moving into the region over the  next hour. Good idea to get inside soon.

16-24 inches of snow coming, says Capital Weather Gang

Friday 12:40 PM

Capital Weather Gang's final forecast: 

DDOT announces transit service suspensions

Friday 12:33 PM

The District Department of Transportation  ends Circulator service at 5 p.m. today and won't reopen until Monday. Capital Bikeshare is currently open, but DDOT says they are removing bikes from in-street stations to prevent damage. Update 4:00 PM: DDOT tweets they're shutting down Capital Bikeshare service at 7 p.m. today and keeping it closed through Saturday.

Remember: Metrorail and bus service will be shut down all weekend. Bus service ending at 5 p.m. today; rail service ending at 11 p.m. Here's a message from Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld:

D.C. bracing for two feet of snow (possibly more) Friday-Saturday

Friday 12:30 AM

Alrighty, last update of the night. Latest snow total forecasts!

— The National Weather Service is predicting 24 inches of snow in D.C. Higher accumulations outside of the city are possible. Read more.

— Capital Weather Gang has been live blogging the latest models to come in, and they're a doozy, predicting more than two feet of snow.

— GFS model predicts 30 inches of snow in D.C.; higher amounts outside. From CWG: "Meteorologists and weather watchers around the region are left in awe by the new GFS run. Our winter weather expert Wes Junker says, 'I’ve never seen a run like this ever.'"

— Based on the new models coming in, CWG is also predicting accumulations to begin earlier: between noon and 2 p.m. in D.C. That's gotta be tricky, if it holds up, as the federal government is set to close at noon. Expect an awfully messy commute if snow is on the ground by 1 or 2 p.m. 

— More reason to worry about early snowfall,  per CWG: "This storm should be considerably colder at onset than Snowmageddon (Feb 5-6, 2010) especially in the city. More like the December storm that year which had powdery snow from the start. Rather than flakes that struggle to stick for a while, everyone should see conditions deteriorate fairly rapidly once snow begins."  

Remember: Blizzard Warning goes into effect Friday 3 p.m. 

Feds off work at noon Friday

Thursday 11:00 PM

The Office of Personnel Management has  announced federal agencies will close at noon. District government employees also are out at noon.

The Washington Post is keeping a running list of  closures.

AU will close at noon Friday

Thursday 6:37 PM

Just out from AU: "On Friday, January 22, American University will close at 12 noon and remain closed through Saturday and Sunday. All university offices will close at 12 noon. Classes scheduled to start at or after 12 noon will not meet in person, however coursework may continue."  More here.

Bowser on CNN: "We've been preparing all week"

Thursday 5:57 PM

Mayor Muriel Bowser, appearing on CNN just now, pledged the city will be ready for this weekend's storm despite last night's fiasco. 

"We've been preparing all week for the two feet of snow. It's the clipper that came in a way [yesterday] that just quite frankly over-performed all of the forecasts," Bowser told Wolf Blitzer.

"Today we set out and started our snow operations ... We want people to stay off the roads tomorrow so we can thoroughly pretreat the roads," Bowser continued. She pointed out she's closed D.C. Public Schools tomorrow and will let out city government employees at noon.

Watch: Mayor Bowser apologizes for bungled snow removal during yesterday's evening commute 

Thursday 5:15 PM

After facing a barrage of  national attention, Mayor Muriel Bowser began her press conference this morning with an apology. "We believe we did not provide adequate resources at a time where it could make a difference in last evening's commute," the mayor said. "We should have been out earlier with more resources. ... We are very sorry." 

While city and regional officials were mostly gearing up for the big show this weekend, a quick clipper system took the area by relative surprise last night. After dumping about an inch — and more in some other parts — of snow, traffic was backed up all over the region.  Not even President Obama was immune. The Washington Post summed it up as: "An inch of snow, icy roads unleash 9 hours of traffic chaos across D.C. region." 

Watch the mayor's remarks below:

Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang: 16-24 inches of snow for D.C.

Thursday 5:05 PM

A Blizzard Warning goes into effect 3 p.m. Friday and will last until 6 a.m. Sunday. The Post's Capital Weather Gang is predicting huge amounts of snow, and they're not ruling out upwards of 30 inches. They're forecasting the white stuff will begin falling sometime between 1 to 5 p.m. on Friday, although it's been unpredictable nailing down a more definite answer. Their timeline:

If you see someone in need of shelter

Thursday 4:55 PM

The D.C. Department of Human Services urges residents to call 1-800-535-7252 or 311 if they see anyone who needs a warm place to stay.

D.C. snow emergency takes effect tomorrow

Thursday 4:50 PM

A snow emergency will go into effect tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced today. Drivers should be advised to remove their cars from snow emergency routes beginning Thursday night — tickets run up to $250 for a violation. The emergency will remain in effect until the city makes an announcement lifting it. Snow emergency routes to avoid in Ward 3:

A mayoral press release notes that the city's salt dome is filled to the brim, with 39,000 tons of salt. The Department of Public Works and the District Department of Transportation have 106 heavy snow plows at their disposal, with 37 contracted plows, 73 light plows, 145 dump trucks, 30 loaders and 20 bobcats. 


T-minus ~24 hours: Metro to close Saturday, Sunday

Thursday 4:41 PM

Welcome to District Wire's snow storm live blog. We'll be updating here with latest forecasts, how the city is responding, and other news as this storm comes.

  • Metrorail and bus service will be shut down Saturday and Sunday, the transit agency announced minutes ago. Bus service will stop at 5 p.m. Friday and rail will follow at 11 p.m. Full press release here.
  • Mayor Muriel Bowser will hold a press conference tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. to give updates on the snow preparation. 

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