Mayor Muriel Bowser says that, while the optimist in her is hoping the epic snow storm heading towards us will pass over the District, her administration has been preparing for the worst-case scenario.

While she will release information about the specific deployment of city resources—vehicles, personnel, and duration—tomorrow at 11:15 a.m., she assured the crowd at the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center that the city has the impending blizzard under control. She did note that the city has already requested additional National Guard vehicles and would be prepared to ask for personnel as well.

Bowser announced that 2,000 people have so far volunteered for the D.C. Resident Snow Team, which helps the elderly and disabled shovel sidewalks and walkways. Under D.C. law, it’s required that property owners keep their sidewalks, and other public areas around their property, clear of snow within eight hours of daylight after the snow stops.

She said that her greatest concern is the possibility of extended power outages, and ensuring that the city’s most vulnerable are cared for and reachable. The city will be working with utility companies to make sure power gets restored and using a network that sends out alerts when outages happen.

Bowser said that residents have a part to play, too. “During power outages it’s more than a nicety to check in on a neighbor—it’s a necessity,” she said.

She was less worried about the city’s ability to plow roads. “We can move the snow,” she said. Christopher Shorter, Acting Director of the DC Department of Public Works, noted that the D.C. snow operation includes 71 primary/secondary routes and 82 residential routes.

Unrelated to the weather, public schools already have an early dismissal scheduled for Friday.

Bowser said it was impossible to know now how closures could play out past the weekend.

Filed Under: blizzard, bowser, ddot, mayor bowser, power outages, roads, shovels, snow,