Is DC prepared for the upcoming winter storm?
D.C. officials say they’re in pretty good shape to handle the predicted 5 to 9 inches of snowfall expected to fall Sunday night into Monday. But they’re continuing to monitor the situation and remain flexible to deploy resources where they’re needed.
Warnique West is D.C.’s snow team coordinator. She’s also known as the city’s “Snow Queen.”
West told WTOP that they have about 300 vehicles on standby and approximately 800 personnel, both city workers and contractors, ready to jump into action.
“I have four salt domes that hold a capacity of 42,000 tons [of road salt],” West said. “I also have three different locations where I house brine, so I constantly try to keep that somewhere around 18,000 gallons of beet juice at a minimum.”
Larger streets have already been treated. West expects treatment of residential streets to begin Sunday at noon.
West said the city’s snow team started working in October to anticipate weather patterns and predict, as best as possible, the potential for snowfall this winter.
It’s shaping up to be an incredibly busy month for city resources. With the snowstorm, the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, a planned Donald Trump rally on Jan. 19, and Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, government agencies across D.C. are being put to the test.
As it turned out, the Department of Public Works had already lent dump trucks to the U.S. Secret Service to block traffic for President Carter’s funeral. So, there are more contractors on hand than usual during this snow event.