Freezing fog, rain may coat DC region in ice following season’s first snowfall

There s a chance for more wintry weather Friday night this time in the form of freezing fog and rain following snowfall that blanketed the D C region earlier in the day Much of the D C region was coated in about to inches of snowfall Friday morning marking the first time the area has seen measurable snowfall in December since Outside the possible for freezing rain drizzle and fog after dark wet spots on the roadway from earlier snowfall could refreeze according to the National Weather Utility Newly-issued winter weather advisories are not for additional snowfall tonight but for the threat of freezing fog and mist overnight coating the area in a thin layer of ice leading to chosen reduced visibilities as well as several slick roadways declared News First Alert Meteorologist Mark Pe a He warned that driving conditions could be really treacherous overnight Thankfully the fog mixes out by the mid-morning hours Pe a mentioned of Saturday s forecast The National Weather Arrangement has issued a winter weather advisory for the D C area beginning at p m and continuing overnight until a m Saturday Temperatures are expected to stay in the s so whatever snow is on the ground should stick around and possibly refreeze Saturday Be safe drive slow and careful disclosed Warnique West a snow coordinator with the D C Department of Citizens Works Listen to WTOP online and on the radio at FM or FM Current traffic conditions Weather forecast Closings and Delays Sign up for WTOP email alerts Get custom alerts with the WTOP app for Apple and Android phones How much snow really fell A surge of cold air overnight ushered in the first snow of the season early Friday morning though winter doesn t technically start for two more weeks Parts of the D C region saw as much as three inches of snow while other areas had lower snowfall totals Selected unofficial snow totals from around the D C region according to the National Weather Facility La Plata Maryland inches as of p m Fair Oaks Virginia inches as of p m Culpeper County Virginia inches as of p m Catholic University in D C inches as of p m Rosslyn Virginia inches as of a m Gaithersburg Maryland inches as of a m Aspen Hill Maryland inches as of p m Upper Marlboro Maryland inches as of p m American University in D C inches as of a m Stafford Virginia inches as of a m Reagan National Airport in Virginia inches as of a m Dulles International Airport in Virginia inches as of a m Laurel Maryland inch as of noon It was enough wintry weather to impact road conditions Friday and prompted multiple school systems to delay or cancel classes The last measurable snowfall in D C in the month of December was back in with inches at Reagan National Airport according to News A snowstorm on Dec made for slick roads in Haymarket Virginia Courtesy WTOP listener Courtesy WTOP listener Vehicles crashed on a snowy median in Haymarket Virginia on Dec Courtesy WTOP listener Courtesy WTOP listener A car appears to be stopped on a snowy median facing the wrong direction in Haymarket Virginia on Dec Courtesy WTOP listener Courtesy WTOP listener Snowfall accumulations in Montgomery County Maryland WTOP Gaby Arancibia WTOP Gaby Arancibia Snowfall continues to pack in Front Royal Maryland as the D C region sees its first snow appearance in December since WTOP Mike Stinneford WTOP Mike Stinneford Snow falls in Bethesda Maryland on Dec WTOP Tadi Abedje WTOP Tadi Abedje School bus pulled over on Interstate as snow creates traffic jams on both sides of the highway Courtesy Matt Mills Courtesy Matt Mills Snow-covered planters in Bethesda Maryland on Dec WTOP Jessica Kronzer WTOP Jessica Kronzer A tiered terrace in Bethesda Maryland covered in snow during the first snowfall in December in eight years WTOP Jessica Kronzer WTOP Jessica Kronzer Share This Gallery Share This share on facebook share on X share on threads share on linkedin share on email print Be safe drive slow and careful Ahead of the storm D C Mayor Muriel Bowser activated the District Snow Group which began salting streets on major roadways Thursday night and continued Friday When you see us give us space right Stay back at least six feet explained West with the D C Department of Citizens Works Give the trucks room and time to spread the salt Otherwise that salt just bounces off your car instead of fully coating the roadway she reported Warnique West a snow coordinator with the D C Department of Populace Works spoke with WTOP while snow was still falling The hope is that once this storm literally ends that we re able to get enough salt on the roadway along with the wind and a little bit of daylight time that we re able to get these streets dry West declared In Maryland delays were announced Friday morning in both directions of Interstate between Urbana and Rockville in addition to several crashes two of which were informed on local roads of the interstate With the snow in the area you got to keep those speeds down WTOP Traffic Reporter Reada Kessler stated adding the conditions of the morning commute were all over the place In Virginia where crashes were published in Fairfax and Prince William counties bureaucrats urged drivers to be cautious as they hit the roads Alex Liggitt communications manager with Virginia s Department of Transportation recounted WTOP Friday morning that despite pretreatment efforts to major roadways ahead of the snowfall there are a fair number of roads out there that have become snow covered We re still asking folks if you don t need to be out there just limit your time on the roads if you can at all Also drive for the conditions he mentioned Friday morning We notice a lot of people going just way too fast even over the speed limit We do not need that In Virginia drivers who spot icy roads are urged to summary the condition through VDOT s website D C residents can call to analysis icy spots that could use salt West noted Looking ahead According to the National Weather Operation the high pressure moving in will keep the weekend dry and seasonably cool Liggitt announced authorities believe roads should resume normal conditions by Saturday The sun makes a slight return come Saturday although the day will be cold as temperatures start in the s and hit a high in the low s Light winds are expected across the region Another weather maker is expected to arrive Sunday night bringing with it colder air FORECAST FRIDAY EVENING WINTER ALERT CONTINUES Cloudy Hazard freezing drizzle freezing fog Temps - Winds Northeast mph FRIDAY NIGHT WINTER ALERT Cloudy cold Peril freezing drizzle freezing fog Lows - Winds Light SATURDAY Intervals of clouds sun Highs - Winds West mph SUNDAY Mostly cloudy Highs - Winds Southwest mph CURRENT CONDITIONS WTOP s Ciara Wells contributed to this summary Source