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Washington, DC Roads Lock Up Ahead of Storm

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DC Gridlock Snow Slate

Not even Waze will get you out of this mess

The weather story of the week is the impending snowstorm ready to unleash its wrath on the East Coast. Washington, DC could get as much as two feet of snow, with similar totals feared in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. States of emergency and blizzard warnings are already being declared as crews prepare to deal with the worst and help clear the roads so that life can get back to normal as soon as possible. It’s a bit troubling, then, that in the midst of this preparation a light pre-storm dusting of snow on Wednesday evening in the DC area was enough to cripple the main roadways.

Since everything related to the weather now gets a cutesy name (remember the Snowpocalypse?), the incident is being dubbed “Snowlock,” but not many people in the District of Columbia are amused. The inch of snow arrived during the evening commute and backed up every highway in the region. According to Slate, some motorists were trapped until the wee hours of this morning. DC is sandwiched between Maryland and Virginia, and both sides of the district had unique traffic problems. Virginia had pre-treated the roads, but the mixture used actually froze on the roads in the frigid temperatures. On the other hand, Maryland didn’t try to prepare at all, opting to go for offense instead of defense.

I certainly hope that this disaster of a dress rehearsal will help the Washington metropolitan area area prepare for the main event tomorrow. Considering that Washington, DC is home to the worst gridlock in the United States, however, I doubt that anything can be done to alleviate the stress and headaches from this latest weather system. If you are caught in the snow’s crosshairs, read up about what to do if you get stuck in a snow drift and general tips for driving in snow and ice before you head out.

News Source: Slate