Preparations underway in DMV for snowstorm – NBC4 Washington

Local and state snow crews are preparing to treat secondary and neighborhood streets throughout D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

“It’s me and three other fellas, so it’s fairly small,” said Jason Swain with the Department of Public Works in Kensington Maryland.

He says his team may be small, but they’re mighty and ready.

“We get the plows ready, make sure everything’s working,” Swain said. “We have salt, which has been kindly given to us by the state, ready to put into the spreaders.”

He says the biggest hurdle when plowing snow, oftentimes, is cars.

“Some people don’t have driveways, but if they’re going to park on the street, try not to park directly across from each other because when we come through, you literally got inches between the edge of our plow and the cars,” Swain said.

In the District, plenty of people decided to step out before snow crews put plow to pavement for a potential all day snow event.

“Mayor Bowser activated the snow team, and they’ll begin their operations tonight, treating and then plowing roads throughout the day tomorrow,” said Clint Osborn with the District’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.

D.C.’s smaller plows will be on back roads and alleys, while heavy trucks will focus on primary streets.

“We’ll have a full deployment out throughout all day tomorrow into Monday as we support the inaugural activities in the District,” Osborn said.

Icy conditions in Prince George’s County during the region’s last snowstorm led to different strategies this go round.

In a statement, the county’s Department of Public Works and Transportation says, “We have implemented adjustments to strengthen our response, and these improvements have prepared us for this round of winter weather.”

The biggest piece of advice for tomorrow:

“Tomorrow would be a good day, since it’s a Sunday, to stay home,” Swain said. “Read a book, have some hot chocolate, relax. Can come out after we finish.”