With snow and sleet continuing to pile up across Fairfax County, the local government has officially extended all facility closures through tomorrow (Monday).
Affected facilities include parks, recreation and community centers, libraries and courthouses, which have all been shuttered since 8 p.m. yesterday (Saturday) due to Winter Storm Fern.
Fairfax County has issued a local emergency declaration for Winter Storm Fern, enabling it to mobilize additional resources and seek outside assistance.
Expected to hit the D.C. region tonight (Saturday) and linger into early Monday morning (Jan. 26), the storm could bring “catastrophic” ice accumulation and “heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain,” totaling between seven and 14 inches, according to the National Weather Service. A Winter Storm Warning has been issued, starting at 11 p.m.
Activities on Fairfax County government and school grounds will largely grind to a halt starting tonight (Saturday), as the region hunkers down for a potentially crippling snowstorm.
Fairfax County will close all of its facilities at 8 p.m. today through Sunday (Jan. 25) in anticipation of Winter Storm Fern, which is expected to bring snow, sleet, freezing rain and ice that could snarl roads and power lines for days.
The National Weather Service continues to pile on alerts for the potentially massive snowstorm barreling toward the D.C. area.
The agency has now upgraded a previously announced winter storm watch for the region, including Fairfax County, into a Winter Storm Warning that’s scheduled to take effect at 11 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday) and remain in place until 4 a.m. Monday (Jan. 26).
The McLean Chocolate Festival has been postponed, and other events across Fairfax County are likely to follow, as a potentially major snow storm bears down on the D.C. region.
Originally set for this Sunday (Jan. 25), the McLean Chocolate Festival will instead return for its 14th year on Sunday, March 15, the Rotary Club of McLean announced yesterday. It will be held at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A Reston playground that was damaged by a storm this spring could return soon with some improvements.
Reston Association is currently seeking community feedback on potential upgrades for the Old Trail playground, which was mostly taken out by trees that fell during a rain storm on May 14, communications director Cara O’Donnell says.
After a stretch of consistently sunny days, the D.C. region is facing a potential bout of rain this afternoon (Wednesday).
The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for the area, including Fairfax County, that’s currently scheduled to take effect at 2 p.m. and continue until 9 p.m.
After several days of hot, muggy weather, a major cooldown is in store for the D.C. region in the wake of storms expected to land this afternoon (Thursday).
However, the heavy rain will bring a risk of “significant flash flooding,” according to the National Weather Service, which has issued a Flood Watch for the entire area, including Fairfax County.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has rescued a group of hikers who got stuck at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve during the storm that just passed through Northern Virginia.
According to scanner traffic, rescue and swift water rescue units were dispatched to the park off of Georgetown Pike around 6:23 p.m., as a thunderstorm dropped a deluge of rain on northern Fairfax County.
Update — More than 10,000 Dominion Energy customers in Fairfax County have lost power as thunderstorms sweep through the D.C. region.
As of 7:20 p.m., the outages appear to be concentrated in the south central part of the county, from Newington up to the Falls Church area, according to the utility’s outage map.
