By Sunday night, King Street in Old Town is clear but quiet. Photo by Jeanne Theismann.
After days of being at a standstill, Alexandria is slowly recovering after nearly two feet of snow paralyzed the city in the worst single storm to hit the area since the Knickerbocker Storm of 1922.
“According to the National Weather Service, Alexandria recorded 22 inches of snow in less than 36 hours,” said Yon Lambert, Director of Transportation and Environmental Services. “There is some debate over the official record at Reagan Airport but obviously this was a historic event and pushed us to the brink.”
City officials worked around the clock as snow began blanketing the region Friday afternoon, with whiteout conditions developing into Saturday before the storm moved its way up the Mid-Atlantic coast.
“Everyone in the city, from road crews to those clearing sidewalks, was out and working very, very hard,” Lambert said. “We did our best to manage the expectations of citizens and set a goal to have all streets passable for emergency vehicles by 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. We met that goal but we still have a lot of work left to do.”
By the city’s definition, “passable” in some instances means a single lane of access with more time needed to clear the massive amounts of snow from the city streets.
“We are focusing today on residential streets and managing traffic issues on primary and secondary routes,” Lambert added Wednesday morning.
According to Lambert, no power outages were reported in the city by Dominion Power and it was not necessary to operate any emergency shelters.
“That was one of the most fortunate things to come out of this storm,” Lambert noted.
Mayor Allison Silberberg spent Saturday and Sunday with city crews during the storm.
“This was a real Level 3 storm,” Silberberg said. “That is the highest we have experienced and whiteout conditions slowed down plowing. But I am really proud of how everyone pulled together – citizens, law enforcement, road crews -- it was really a great team effort.”
Residents banded together during the storm, with some like Rick Augusburger anticipating the massive clean up to clear streets and vehicles of snow and ice.
“It was a whim,” said Augusburger, who was able to rent a walk-behind Bobcat loader when one suddenly became available Friday morning. “But while I was the one who made the call, the real story is about how the entire block came together. It was a complete team effort.”
Augusburger, who lives with his wife Jane in the 900 block of South St. Asaph Street, alternated 90-minute shifts with neighbor Chris McCarthy operating the snow loader to keep their street and the side access roads clear during the storm.
“During the worst of the storm, another neighbor, Dave Beck, made several hikes to the only open gas station on North Henry Street to get diesel fuel so we could keep working,” Augusburger added.
As the weather improved, so did everyone’s spirits with Beck barbecuing brats on a street grill and using the snow banks as a cooler for drinks.
“We had a goal to get everyone’s car out before the NFL playoff games started on Sunday,” Augusburger said. “I think we freed up more than 50 cars and everyone who operated the Bobcat had a fun experience. It was like playing in a sandbox for us.”
With snow removal continuing throughout the city, trash collection was suspended until Monday, Feb.1, to help keep streets clear for the ongoing clean up.
“Snow plows will continue to work around the clock,” Silberberg said. “We’re not out of the woods yet but this has been a real testament to who we are as a community, pulling together and helping each other out.”