Photo by Eric Purcell

While other publications are grinning themselves silly in self-congratulation that they coined—or are carelessly aping—a nickname for the snowstorm expected to hit the D.C. area tonight, the District’s Department of Public Works has its own term for the approaching weather pattern.

The headline of a press release about the city’s snow preparedness refers to the storm as “the Big One.” The Capital Weather Gang’s latest forecast projects that the District will receive between three and eight inches of snow. If that prediction holds up, this storm will certainly register as “big”—at least relative to the past few winters. D.C. hasn’t seen more than two inches of snow on the ground since early 2011.

Anyway, as for the city’s preparations this time around, DPW and the District Department of Transportation are set to deploy a fleet of 230 snow plows tonight, beginning at 11 p.m. With the precipitation to arrive first as rain before it transitions to wet, heavy snow falling through Wednesday morning, officials are advising that, obviously, tomorrow’s traffic could be a bit treacherous.