Enough fluff

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. -- There was disappointment Tuesday for those hoping the weather forecast would change and another big snow storm would pass us by. And depending upon what the second portion of the two-pronged storm does, we could be in for double-digit snow totals. Again.

A center of low pressure was expected to develop off the Mid-Atlantic coast, somewhere off Delaware and Maryland, bringing with it heavy snow and wind and possibly laying the groundwork for a significant Nor’easter for New England, forecasters said. The first part of the storm moved into our area from the Ohio Valley, forecasters said.

"The other piece of energy that is going to get this low going, in terms of intensification is a piece of energy that is currently over the western Ohio valley, and that is going to be moving pretty much eastward, and when it makes it to the coast we’ll have the coastal low already there, and we’ll see this piece of energy come across the Ohio valley, rapidly intensifying this low off the coast," said National Weather Service forecaster Kevin Witt.

As of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, forecasted snow totals remained at seven to 14 inches of snow for Northern Virginia, with more to the north and east. A new element included with this storm that wasn’t there this weekend is high, gusty winds. Winds could reach 20 to 25 mph, with higher gusts, according to the weather service.

“Northeastern Virginia into Loudoun County, Fairfax County and points north and east through toward Baltimore and Hartford County are expecting 10 to 20 inches, and those places would be our higher points at this time,” Witt said.

A winter storm warning remains in effect until 7 p.m. today, according to the weather service.

The snow is keeping road crews working overtime and building inspectors concerned that more snow could mean more roof collapses.

With 15 to 25 inches already on the ground, new snow would only be adding to the weight of already strained roofs in the area. Over the weekend, the Prince William Ice Forum in Dale City and an airport hangar in Manassas collapsed under the weight of the snow.

The Virginia Department of Transportation worked overtime to clear snow from the last storm in advance of the next one, by getting a plow down subdivision streets before the start of the second storm. The agency is also getting new deliveries of salt and sand to combat Mother Nature’s effects.

"The hundreds of four-by-four pickup trucks VDOT uses in Northern Virginia subdivisions for a typical four-to six-inch storm are having difficulty with the compacted, deep snow covering most neighborhoods. Snow drifts in some areas are even higher than the subdivision plows. Interstate trucks are too large to fit through neighborhoods, so in some areas crews are using special equipment such as graders, bucket loaders, tandems and backhoes," said VDOT spokeswoman Jennifer McCord. “This is a very slow and tedious process."

Power crews, too, were still working to get residents' power restored to their homes in advance of the storm.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, NOVEC still had 800 customers without power in Northern Virginia and Dominion Virginia Power showed 17 customers in Prince William without service.

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