Community Corner

Fairfax City Under Winter Storm Watch

City crews pre-treating roadways with a salt brine solution as new predictions show 3 to 7 inches starting around 10 p.m. Tuesday, with a snow and rain mixture continuing through Wednesday night.

Fairfax City, along with the rest of Northern Virginia, is under a winter storm watch starting Tuesday night — and the chances our area will see “significant snow” are increasing.

The National Weather Service issued the winter storm watch from Tuesday through Wednesday evening, warning 5 inches was possible across the watch area, which includes Fairfax, Loudoun, Alexandria, Arlington and Prince William counties, among others.

The storm impacts could include “difficult driving conditions, heavy wet snow and gusty winds could lead to power outages.”

Find out what's happening in Fairfax Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The City of Fairfax said in an alert Monday it was pre-treating area roadways with a salt brine solution ahead of the storm.

And, since people in Northern Virginia like to name storms, the popular choice for this storm seems to be "Snowquester."

Find out what's happening in Fairfax Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

UPDATED FORECAST 

As of just after 12 a.m. Tuesday, the official National Weather Service forecast for Fairfax calls for a 30 percent chance of rain Tuesday after 4 p.m., changing to a mix of rain and snow after 10 p.m.

After 4 a.m., snow will continue through 3 p.m. Wednesday.

A mix of snow and rain is expected to continue through 9 p.m. Wednesday in Fairfax City.

About 2 to 5 inches are expected Tuesday into Wednesday, with an additional 1 to 2 inches on Wednesday.

Wind gusts could reach 18 miles per hour.

NBC-4's chief meteorologist Doug Kammerer predicts that areas west of Interstate 95 will see the most snow in the area, and western Fairfax "much more." Kammerer predicts no school for Wednesday and possibly Thursday.

ABC-7 senior meteorologist Bob Ryan says there is a 60 percent chance the area will see 3-7 inches of snow, a 30 percent chance the area will see 5-8 inches of snow and a 10 percent chance of 8-10 inches of snow.

History of March Snow in DC Area

The DC area has gotten at least a trace of snow in March in 15 of the past 30 years, WTOP reported. Seven of those 15 snowfalls have been less than an inch. The most recently really significant snow in March was 5.5 inches in 2009.

Overall, the DC area has averaged 1.3 inches of snow in March over the past 30 years. Out at Dulles International Airport, the average for March is 2.8 inches over the past 30 years, according to WTOP.

This February, both Punxsutawney Phil and Potomac Phil predicted an early spring.

How are you preparing for the snow in Fairfax City? Tell us in the comments.

One way to start: Subscribe to our daily and breaking email newsletters for all snow coverage; like us on Facebook and Twitter for by-the-minute road and traffic updates.


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