Arlington Snowfall Guide: Street Plowing, Shoveling

ARLINGTON, VA — The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the Arlington area calling for 2 to 4 inches of snow this weekend. Since this is the first snow of the season, we're reminding readers what the snow removal process is in Arlington County.

Arlington crews have been preparing year-round to make sure they can quickly make Arlington’s roads, sidewalks, bus stops and trails safe and passable after a winter event.

Plowing generally begins in the county when snow becomes 2-4 inches deep. Snow crews will concentrate on clearing snow from all streets and county trails as soon as possible.

Snow crews treat and plow primary (red) and secondary (blue) arterials only while snow continues to fall. Residents are advised to not drive unless necessary so roads will be open for emergency and snow removal vehicles.

When the forecast calls for winter weather, Arlington crews follow the four-phase snow removal process:

• Phase 1: Snow crews pre-treat main roads before a storm.
• Phase 2: During the storm, the priority is to keep main arteries passable for emergency vehicles and public transportation.
• Phase 3: Plowing of residential streets and trails begins. It’s important to know that these streets may only be passable with one lane and you may not see bare pavement.
• Phase 4: After the storm, cleanup operations begin, which includes treating ice on the roadways.

The County has budgeted $1.439 million for CY17-18 snow operations. The snow team includes 92 drivers and 46 trucks equipped with salt spreaders and plows. Additional contracting equipment is available depending upon the severity of the storm. Arlington has 9,200 tons of salt for roads stockpiled.

The evening commute on Friday should be OK, says the weather service. "Today will be fine, with snow starting after the PM commute. As the picture becomes clearer, the Advisory area may change. Stay tuned," the forecasters wrote on Facebook.

Here's the forecast from the weather service:

Friday: Cloudy, with a high near 40. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
Friday night: Snow, mainly after 1am. Low around 33. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Saturday: Snow. High near 35. Light and variable wind becoming east around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Saturday Night: Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 28. Light west wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the evening.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 38. West wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 26.

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