Forecast calls for snow

The snow plows were gearing up Sunday night for what forecasters said could be a light dusting of snow on area roadways just in time for the Monday morning rush.

The flakes were scheduled to begin falling after 7 a.m. with lingering snow into the afternoon, forecasters said.

What ever falls will be light, at less than an inch, but it could put a damper on the morning commute.

About 550 trucks treated roads over the weekend and a reduced number of crews were put on standby overnight, said Joan Morris, Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman.

According to the National Weather Service the chance residents might see a pre-Inaugural snow is about 50 to 60 percent this morning and about a 50 percent chance tonight.

Temperatures are forecast to hover around 33 degrees today, then they are expected to drop to a low of around 18 degrees tonight, according to the NWS.

The snow would come after a string of cold days not seen in the Washington area for more than 11years.

Friday high temperatures hovered around 14 degrees around points in Prince William County, with wind chills —  what the air really feels like when you factor in the wind — in the single digits.

“The last time we saw temperatures like this at National Airport was back in February 1996,” said NWS Forecaster Howard Silverman. In January of the same year a string of winter storms dumped more than 20 inches of snow on the region.

Cumulatively it was called the Blizzard of ’96.

Though it is the day before the inauguration and despite the calls for snow, the morning rush hour throughout Northern Virginia will be business as usual — with no major road closures for drivers to contend with.

This afternoon commuters will begin to see the restrictions put in place by the Secret Service in advance of Inauguration Day.

Interstate 95’s High Occupancy Vehicle lanes, which normally run north in the morning and south in evening, will run north all day.

This is expected to put a higher than normal amount of cars onto the highway’s regular travel lanes, and force more commuters onto Metro rail — where they can meet OmniRide commuter busses waiting for them at the Springfield and West Falls Church stations that will take them back to points in Prince William.

Officials could change the direction of the HOV lanes as early as Tuesday night.

Though no snow is in the forecast for Inauguration Day, the NWS said it will be colder outside with an expected high of 31 degrees.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.