Ice storm expected to pound D.C. area

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A second blast of winter weather was expected to coat the region with ice last night, creating treacherous driving conditions this morning and the possibility of outages by the afternoon if tree limbs weighted with ice crash onto power lines.

As the Washington area continued to dig out from the about 4 inches of snow that fell Sunday, forecasters predicted heavy freezing rain this afternoon lasting 3 to 6 hours, followed by light snow expected to start after 7 p.m.

The Potomac Electric Power Co. had several hundred emergency workers in the area Sunday night. Some of the extra linemen and tree crews stayed in the area last night in preparation for the outages expected from the ice storm today, said company spokesman Robert Dobkin.

A quarter- to a half-inch of ice can cause small branches to fall onto the lines, he said, but more than a half-inch causes "big problems."

The National Weather Service canceled a winter storm warning last night, but a winter storm watch remained in effect for the ice storm.

"The biggest concern is significant icing," said Louis Rosa, a meteorologist with the agency. "We're looking at up to a quarter-inch of ice."

Mr. Dobkin urged people to stay away from downed power lines. Outages and downed lines should be reported to Pepco by calling 877-PEPCO-62.

Most primary roads in the District had been plowed by midmorning yesterday, though some major arteries in places such as Georgetown, Friendship Heights and Capitol Hill were sloppy with snow and slush well into the afternoon.

"It's too cold," said Homer Kirby, who supervises snow-removal crews for the D.C. Department of Public Works. "If it was warmer, [the snow] would melt much faster."