Happy Valentine’s Day, Washington. It’s icy out! And, as Encino Man taught us, where there’s ice, puzzlement and disorientation won’t be far behind. We know you’ve got questions: will your power stay on on? Will you have to go into work? How horrible is your commute going to be?

We’ll get to that in a second. But first, we must remind you of the traditional Washington area winter storm news edict: THERE SHALL BE NO NON-STORM RELATED NEWS, ANYWHERE. It’s a time-honored media tradition dating back to the Magna Carta. Check Wikipedia (er, in a sec).

So yes, this extended intro is just vamping. Nobody’s talking about anything except the storm, Valentine’s Day and the intersection of the two.

The Aftermath: Let’s get down to it. WTOP has a complete list of delays and cancellations here. Highlights include the closing of most area schools; the federal government opening two hours late with liberal leave in effect; and the Metrobus system running emergency routes only (Metrorail service remains mostly unaffected). Capital Weather reports that the worst is over, but that travel and electrical service may remain problematic through the rest of the day — in fact, electricity outages may increase during the afternoon as winds pick up.

Pepco Raises Rates: There’s other electricity-related news, too. It was just yesterday that the Post reported that Dominion wouldn’t be putting new powerlines through protected land. But that increase in the cosmic balance of power-company-karma wouldn’t stand for long: WTOP reports that Pepco plans to raise its rates by 12% beginning June 1. But there’s good news, sort of! As already mentioned, today’s weather may offer you an unscheduled non-voluntary power conservation opportunity, helping to offset this price hike in advance. To opt out of this program, click here.

Briefly Noted: Investigation into fugitive teen’s suicide continues… Off-duty cop shot over his jacket, is unharmed due to bulletproof vest… Residents rescued from apartment fire in Southeast… Lawmakers continue to clash over Va. transportation bill…

This Day In DCist: One year ago we were complaining about motorcades and getting ready for Unbuckled. Two years ago we wondered about the relevance of Jumbo Slice healthcode violations.

Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user lonecellotheory