Montgomery County officials who work in several departments are striving to clear major roads of snow and ice and handle other weather-related issues as the snow continues to fall. Once that is completed, the county snowplows will move on to residential roads.
During a briefing Monday, County Department of Transportation Director Chris Conklin and Montgomery County Fire Chief Corey Smedley spoke while manning the Department of Transportation’s storm center.
By early afternoon, parts of the county had received between four and eight inches of snow, according to Dr. Earl Stoddard, county chief administrative officer.
A water main break on Wisconsin Avenue and scattered power outages are some of the problems reported by officials. The Elm Apartments in Bethesda currently is without water due to the water main break. According to Stoddard, about 1,000 residents live in these apartments.
The county is monitoring the situation while WSSC Water works to repair the break.
Wisconsin Ave Update: Take a look… lots of other utilities in the area of our pipe. Once Miss Utility says it’s safe to dig, we will proceed. We are ready. You can see the split along the length of our pipe. At this point we know we have to replace at least one section of pipe. pic.twitter.com/qAEXD8IQUR
— WSSC Water (@WSSCWaterNews) January 6, 2025
The county has cleared more than 100 miles of its sidewalks, including those at bus stops, Conklin said.
He expected that once the second wave of snow ends later Monday night, the county will begin clearing residential streets.
“Our area has not seen a snow like this is a while,” said Executive Marc Elrich. He urged everyone to stay off the roads “unless absolutely necessary.”
Both Smedley and Police Chief Marc Yamada said their personnel are ready to handle calls, which as yet have not been significant. “Calls for service are down a little bit,” Yamada said.
County officials are working to get as many homeless people indoors as possible, according to Christine Hong, chief of Services to End and Prevent Homelessness. All six emergency shelters are operating, she said.
Anyone who needs to warm up is encouraged to go to Progress Place on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, she said.
So far Monday, the top five concerns coming into the county MC311 service concern:
- Are county offices closed?
- Will recycling and trash be picked up?
- What is the Ride On bus schedule?
- Questions about plowing
❄️ Winter Storm Safety info❄️
Downed power lines (Pepco: 1-877-737-2662) or fallen trees (311).
Snow Removal: Track plows at https://t.co/exYkVCkjuA. Report unplowed streets after 36 hours (311).
Utility emergency Pepco: 1-877-737-2662 WSSC: 1-800-828-6439.
Shelters: Call 311. pic.twitter.com/mMh7MpX9Nh— Montgomery County MD Government (@MontgomeryCoMD) January 6, 2025
