Rising Temperatures Melt Ice, May Bring Evening Snow

Overnight Freezing Rain Caused School Closures, Delays

Warmer temperatures this afternoon have melted the slick spots from yesterday's ice storm, hopefully leading to a clearer evening commute.

Pavement temperatures this afternoon were about 8 degrees above freezing, Buck said, enough to prevent most afternoon rain from freezing, said David Buck, a spokesman for the Maryland State Highway Administration.

"Anytime there's any precipitation there's always an impact because of the amount of congestion in the region," he said. "Temperatures are up fairly high right now, but that can change quickly," he said.

Temperatures rose through the morning and reached nearly 40 degrees downtown by midafternoon, helping the rain from the morning wash away the ice. That rain was becoming lighter through the afternoon and may give way to snow late this evening. The National Weather service said up to an inch of accumulation is possible.

The federal government and most area school systems delayed opening this morning, and schools in Howard and Loudoun counties closed altogether, after freezing rain overnight left roads and sidewalks slick and tens of thousands of homes and business without power.

Arlington, Montgomery, Prince William and Fairfax county schools opened two hours late, along with numerous private schools and universities. D.C. public schools opened on time.

The federal government announced it was putting unscheduled leave policies in effect. Metrorail extended rush hour service by one hour to accommodate commuters coming in later than usual, although customers were not charged rush hour fares.

Some areas west and north of Washington were under an ice storm warning until 1 p.m. Police and highway officials said conditions were definitely improving throughout the morning -- but they remained braced for trouble this afternoon when the mercury falls again.

Early accidents shut down lanes of Interstate 95 near Baltimore and Interstate 70 in Frederick, but were quickly cleared, she said. Montgomery County police reported traffic signal outages throughout Silver Spring and Chevy Chase, as well as trees and wires down. Fairfax County police said there were fewer accidents today than on a normal morning, perhaps because downed trees and slippery conditions were forcing drivers to ease off the accelerator. "It's a mess out there,'' Officer Eddy Azcarate said.

After the two-hour delay, some Fairfax County students wound up stranded at their schools after being dropped off and finding out that the buildings had no power. Officials learned from Dominion Power after 9 a.m. that service might not be restored at some schools until late in the day, said Fairfax schools spokesman Paul Regnier.

By that time, some students were already on the bus headed to school. Students arrived at McLean High and Madison High only to learn that school was cancelled. The school system arranged for buses to come back and pick them up later in the morning, Regnier said. At elementary schools, including Wolftrap Elementary, Flint Hill Elementary and Cunningham Park Elementary in the Vienna area and Braddock Elementary in Annandale, students who were dropped off will be supervised until their parents can pick them up.

Three Montgomery county schools -- Pine Crest Elementary School, Springbook High and Earle B. Wood Middle -- were without power, and after opening late were to close around mid-day.