John Matthews
WMAL.com
STERLING, VA — (WMAL) It promises to be one of those classic winter evening rush hour nightmares in the DC area Monday, as light freezing rain is expected to spread across the area just as schools are letting out for the day.
“This will be a light precipitation event,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Brandon Fling told WMAL. “But the timing for the metro area is looking at around 3 to 5 pm, and it will continue into the early evening hours.”
A Winter Weather Advisory is set to begin at 11 am for areas well to the north and west of Washington, at 1 pm for areas including Loudoun and Northwest Montgomery Counties, and at 3 pm for the rest of the DC Metro area as the sleet and freezing rain move in to the region.
With the ground so cold after several days of single-digit temperatures, Fling says anything that falls should freeze, even with air temperatures likely to be slightly above freezing as the precipitation begins.
Several school systems in Northern Virginia are taking no chances, and are closing for the entire day. It’s possible other schools will opt to close early to beat the precipitation.
Temperatures are expected to remain steady overnight and actually rise into the 40’s on Tuesday, breaking the week-long icy grip, but there are one – and perhaps two monster rush hours to get past before that relief arrives.
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District of Columbia-Prince Georges-Anne Arundel-
Central and Southeast Montgomery-Central and Southeast Howard-
Nelson-Albemarle-Greene-Madison-Culpeper-
Prince William/Manassas/Manassas Park-Fairfax-
Arlington/Falls Church/Alexandria-Southern Fauquier-
336 AM EST Mon Jan 8 2018
…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS
AFTERNOON TO 9 PM EST THIS EVENING…
* WHAT…A wintry mix with freezing rain and sleet is expected.
The ice will result in very slippery conditions on sidewalks,
roads and bridges. A light glaze of ice is expected.
* WHERE…The Washington DC metropolitan area, and northern
Piedmont and central foothills of Virginia.
* WHEN…From 3 PM to 9 PM EST Monday.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Even if air temperatures rise above
freezing, the ground and other surfaces are still extremely
cold due to the recent Arctic blast. This increases the
likelihood of a glaze of ice on surfaces.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of freezing rain
will cause travel difficulties. Be prepared for slippery roads.
Slow down and use caution while driving. The latest road
conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by
calling 5 1 1.
