Virginia crews prep for next winter storm after major cleanup effort
Across the region, officials said they’ve made significant progress cleaning up after the last storm – while they’ve also begun preparations for the next.
"I want to thank the teams across the Commonwealth for reacting quickly," Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin told reporters at a press briefing Wednesday.
He added that at one point, 120,000 Virginians were without power after this week’s winter weather. He said crews responded to nearly 900 crashes as well.
"I asked everybody, stay off the roads," Youngkin said, "and we saw traffic volumes on Monday and Tuesday that were 30 and 40 percent of what they normally are."
WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES - JANUARY 06: A view from the streets as heavy snow blankets the several US states in Washington D.C., United States on January 06, 2025. A state of emergency has been declared in Kentucky, Virginia, Kansas, Arkansas an
Other parts of the DMV are thawing out as well.
Montgomery County officials said Wednesday that all residential roads are now passable, although they warned that packed snow and ice may remain.
Also, some welcome news for frustrated parents: while some school districts said they will remain closed Thursday, others are opening back up, even if it is after a two-hour delay.
"It is time for them to go back," laughed Montgomery County parent Shadi Akhada. "It is time for them to go back."
Still, though, the snow may not be done with us just yet.
"This storm will most likely impact again almost all of the commonwealth," Youngkin said of weather that’s expected to hit the region late Friday night into Saturday morning.
The governor added that Virginians should already be seeing pretreatment trucks back out on the roads in preparation for that potential second storm.