Montgomery County Is Expecting the First Winter Storm of the Season Overnight into Monday

For Immediate Release: Sunday, January 2, 2022

It may be hard to believe that the winter weather season is upon us, after a high of 62 degrees today, but a Winter Storm Warning has been issued for Montgomery County in effect from 1 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday. The forecast calls for between two to four inches of snow, with a chance of slightly more or less snowfall depending on where the storm tracks and where you are in Montgomery County.

“With our first winter weather activity approaching, we are asking our community to please monitor the weather and be safe and smart when traveling,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “Our crews will be out on the roads. We want all travelers to give them plenty of room to operate and be patient with snow- and ice-clearing activities.”

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) Division of Highway Services will begin mobilizing crews and contractors this evening at 9 p.m. The MCDOT Storm Operations Center (SOC) will activate at midnight. The County snowplows have rubber-tipped blades that will allow main roads to be plowed early. Residential roads are not typically plowed until approximately three inches of snow accumulate and major roads are sufficiently clear. With the added challenge of a reduction in available snowplow drivers regionally, snow-clearing may take longer than normal.

“Due to a high number of COVID-19 cases, there is a shortage of snowplow operators and contractors available to address this storm event,” said Richard Dorsey, MCDOT chief of Highway Services. “We will focus on keeping major roads clear and ensuring access to public safety and health facilities and will treat all County maintained roads as soon as possible. Residents may need to wait longer than typical for neighborhood streets to be treated and should visit the County County’s Snow Portal for up-to-date snow-clearing information after 9 p.m. on Sunday.”

MCDOT has seven regional depots that are responsible for clearing snow along 220 different plow routes on more than 5,200 lane miles of County roads. The Maryland State Highway Administration clears all State roads in the County designated by numbers.

“We are ready for the storm,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “Our operators are on standby and will begin clearing as early and as often as possible, but it may take us a little longer, with the staff shortage, to reach all streets that experience significant snow accumulation.”

Montgomery County’s Ride On bus service is expected to operate on a normal schedule on Monday. Riders should expect that there may be some weather-related delays and should be on alert for any announcements about service changes in response to weather conditions.

More information about snow removal including who plows specific streets, snow-removal status and service requests is available online here.

For department updates, follow @MCDOTNow on Twitter, visit the department website at montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot, and subscribe to MCDOT’s ‘Go Montgomery!’ newsletter. 

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Release ID: 22-001
Media Contact: Emily DeTitta 240-372-2282
Categories: Snow, Transportation