March 14, 2017 | by Sonya Burke, Mitti Hicks and Douglas Tallman

MoCo Snow Blog: Nor’easter 2017 (VIDEO)

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for snow, sleet and freezing rain from now thru 2 p.m. for Montgomery County.

This is your source for the latest wintry weather news in Montgomery County.

We hope you will contribute your snow updates and photos for this blog as well. You can email photos to pix@mymcmedia or Tweet images and updates @MyMCMedia, #MoCo #snow. You can also follow us on Facebook.

Stay safe and stay warm.

WHAT’S OPEN AND WHAT’S CLOSED

From city hall to shopping malls, see our round up (below) of what’s open and what’s closed on this snow day.

https://www.facebook.com/WestfieldMontgomery/posts/10154401337693663

https://www.facebook.com/WestfieldWheaton/posts/1512594925431380

SNOW PLOW OPERATORS ARE OUT AND ABOUT

Montgomery County officials report that snow plow operators are clearing emergency routes at this hour.

CITIES OF GAITHERSBURG AND ROCKVILLE CLOSED TODAY

The cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville are closed today.

LEGGETT CLOSES MONTGOMERY COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has just announced that Montgomery County government is closed today.

Essential personnel must report as scheduled.

NWS ISSUES WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY, CANCELS WINTER STORM WARNING

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for snow, sleet and freezing rain until 2 p.m. on Tuesday. The Winter Storm Warning has been canceled.

THREE HOUR DELAY FOR FEDERAL WORKERS

Federal offices are open in the Washington, D.C. area today under a three-hour delayed arrival. Employees also have the option for unscheduled leave or unscheduled telework.

LIBERAL LEAVE IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Montgomery County government is open today with “liberal leave” for non-essential employees. All essential County employees are expected to report to duty as scheduled. Non-essential employees may use unscheduled annual leave, paid time off, leave without pay or compensatory time without prior supervisory approval.

Employees who choose not to report for work must notify their supervisors.

Residents are encouraged to call government facilities before visiting to ensure there has not been unforeseen closure due to weather impact.

County officials are continuing to monitor weather conditions. Should weather conditions worsen significantly updates about operations will be made at that time.

GOVERNOR DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has declared a state of emergency in Maryland because of the pending snowstorm.

“Our state is taking every precaution and coordinating all available resources to respond to this winter storm,” said Hogan. “We urge all Marylanders to use common sense and to stay indoors and off the roads. A state of emergency means that residents need to remain alert and regularly check for updated weather forecasts as conditions change.”

You can find out more information on the state’s website, here.

SCHOOLS CLOSED TOMORROW

Montgomery County Public Schools are closed on March 14, because of the winter storm.

You can find more information on the district’s website, here.

BOE RESCHEDULES MEETING BECAUSE OF WEATHER

The Board of Education has rescheduled its Tuesday meeting until Friday because of wintry weather concerns.

COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING CANCELED BECAUSE OF WEATHER

The Montgomery County Council has canceled its March 14th meeting because of wintry weather.

You can find out more, here.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND ANNOUNCES CLOSURE ON MARCH 14

The University of Maryland is going to be closed on March 14th because of wintry weather.

TAKOMA PARK CITY MANAGER PREPS RESIDENTS FOR THE SNOWSTORM

Takoma Park City Manager Suzanne Ludlow has posted a message to residents about the pending snowstorm on the city’s website.

You can read her message, here.

PARKING DURING A SNOWSTORM

When Montgomery County or the state of Maryland declare a snow emergency, that means parking is prohibited along snow emergency routes.

Find out what else you should know about parking during a snowstorm in this short video, below:

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SNOW FORECAST

The latest snow map from the National Weather Service, below:

GAITHERSBURG CITY MANAGER DECLARES SNOW EMERGENCY

snow plowGaithersburg city manager Tony Tomasello has declared a snow emergency effective as of 7 p.m. on Monday. That means all cars must be moved off snow emergency routes or they may be towed or ticketed.

The city has also rescheduled tonight’s work session until March 27.

There will be no recycling tomorrow because of the wintry weather as well.

You can find more information on the city’s website, here.

TAKOMA PARK SNOW UPDATES

The city of Takoma Park has announced that passport services will be closed on Tuesday because of the winter storm. Residents are also asked to review the city’s snow removal policies as well.

ROCKVILLE DECLARES SNOW EMERGENCY

The City of Rockville has declared a snow emergency that requires all vehicles to be removed from roads within the city, including neighborhood streets, by 5 p.m. today.

Find out more, here.

PENDING SNOW CLOSES ROCKWOOD MANOR OPEN HOUSE

Montgomery Parks officials have announced that Rockwood Manor’s Open House on March 15 is canceled because of the winter storm forecast.

TROOPERS PREP FOR WINTER STORM

The Maryland State Police Department is prepping for the pending winter storm by reassigning some personnel to road patrol duty tonight and tomorrow.

PENDING SNOW CANCELS SILVER SPRING CITIZENS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING

The Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board meeting is canceled tonight because of the pending snow, according to Reemberto Rodriquez, who is the director of the Silver Spring Regional Center.

SNOW PLOWING OPERATIONS PRIMER (VIDEO)

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation is responsible for clearing over 5,000 lane miles of roads using 250 employees and 175 pieces of equipment. Hundreds of contractors and large trucks are also utilized for winter storms where a large snowfall is predicted.

There are several stages for clearing snow. First, crews pre-treat roads when storms are on the way.  Plowing begins when snow is more than three inches deep. Crews focus first on main roads and bus routes and they keep snow plowing equipment at fire stations to assist first responders. Then, county crews begin clearing neighborhood roads.

You can find out more about snow operations in Montgomery County by watching the one minute video, below:

STORM OPERATIONS CENTER UPDATE

The Montgomery County Storm Operations Center is planning to activate at 4 p.m. on Monday, according to the Department of Transportation’s Twitter account.

Crews are moving into their staging positions throughout the day.

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