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More snow on the way; schools closed all week
Loudoun County residents will get only a brief respite from shoveling snow. Another major storm is heading this way.
National Weather Service meteorologists are predicting another 8 to 10 inches of snow between noon Tuesday and 2 p.m. Wednesday.
“This is one of those storms, given the snow that's already on the ground, that will have a significant impact on our area,” said Stephen Konarik, National Weather Service meteorologist.
With more snow coming, Loudoun County Public Schools announced that schools will be closed through Friday, Feb. 12. Schools also are closed Monday, Feb. 15, for Presidents Day, so they will not reopen until Tuesday, Feb. 16.
"It will probably take until Sunday to dig out our 770 buses and make them trip worthy," Superintendent Edgar Hatrick said in a statement. "We are working as fast as possible to open school parking lots and clear walkways on campuses."
The school system also is waiting for residential roads to be more clear.
"In order for buses to use these streets they must have more than single lane passage, and intersections must be sufficiently cleared to allow for turning," Hatrick said.
The National Weather Service already has issued a winter storm watch for the new storm throughout Northern Virginia, including Loudoun County, for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening. Meteorologists expect to upgrade that watch to a warning within the next 24 hours, Konarik said.
“There's a very good likelihood that it will be over 10 inches,” he said.
The snow will fall in waves, he said, with the first heavy accumulation beginning Tuesday afternoon and continuing until midnight. The second band of snow will start to fall Wednesday morning before finally tapering off around 2 p.m.
Superintendent's statement
Superintendent of Schools Edgar Hatrick sent out the following message about the extended school closure:
"All Loudoun County Public Schools will continue to be closed for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, Feb. 10-12, 2010. This closure includes school activities, practices and other uses of school buildings.
The decision to close is made because of the severity of the snow we already received. It will probably take until Sunday to dig out our 770 buses and make them trip worthy. We are working as fast as possible to open school parking lots and clear walkways on campuses. In the meantime we appreciate the work being done by VDOT, Loudoun’s towns, and homeowner associations to open up secondary roads and community streets. In order for buses to use these streets they must have more than single lane passage, and intersections must be sufficiently cleared to allow for turning.
As we prepare to re-open schools on Tuesday, Feb. 16, the day after the scheduled President’s Day holiday, we will need additional help from Loudoun’s citizens in clearing sidewalks for the more than 20,000 students who walk to and from school each day. We also are counting on community assistance to clear bus stops for students to wait to board buses.
Decisions about opening schools are always made with student safety first and foremost, both for walkers and bus riders. It is likely that some neighborhoods will open up before others, but our ability to staff schools and get students safely to their schools involves more than just a neighborhood area.
We appreciate all of the support Loudoun’s parents and citizens will give to helping us get back to school. Please remember to be safe, particularly as young people and others start to walk in streets because sidewalks are not uncovered. Having pedestrian and vehicular traffic on the roads at the same time creates a very dangerous situation.
Thank you again for your understanding and assistance as we deal with the worst snow storm in many years."
-- Elizabeth Coe contributed to this article.
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