Snowquester a Bust in Prince George's County

Update, 4 p.m.: The snow storm deemed snowquester wasn't much of a storm afterall—although area children got a day off from school.

As Prince George's County braced itself for a large storm Wednesday morning, residents reported mostly rain in neighborhoods, although a little snow fell dusting the ground.

See photos from the storm here.

Prince George's County will leave it's non-emergency 3-1-1 line open until midnight to help answer any questions residents might have in regards to the storm or power.

“Throughout the day and into the evening, I encourage residents to utilize our new CountyClick 3-1-1 service for non-emergency questions and concerns resulting from accumulating snow,” said Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III. “Since its launch last October, Prince George’s CountyClick 3-1-1 has been a great asset to the County, especially during times of emergency.”   

The hotline will accept snow removal requests and provide updates on where trucks have been deployed.

Update, 10 a.m. The snow and rain is coming down in parts of Prince George's County as the snowquester makes it's way into Maryland.

Check out our full list of closings in Prince George's County.

According to readers in Hyattsville, the snow and rain are still mixed there, but DC is seeing snow as is Virginia.

We'll continue to update with more information as it comes our way. But if you want immediate info, follow Patch and others on Twitter.

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Original Post, 9 p.m.: Prince George's County prepared Tuesday for what forecasters predict could be the region’s first significant snowfall in more than two years.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Prince George's County for midnight Wednesday through 3 a.m. Thursday.

The storm is expected to begin as rain late Tuesday before becoming heavy, wet snow by Wednesday afternoon, making for a potentially “sloppy, snowy evening rush with increasing winds,” WJLA reported.

Prince George's County could see anywhere from 3 to 8 inches of snow, The Washington Post’s “Capital Weather Gang” blog predicted. However snow fall predictions vary across the county.

“This storm will most likely end Washington’s longest streak on record without a snowstorm of at least two inches, which has lasted for the last 769 days. It should be the biggest snowstorm since Commutageddon, on January 26, 2011,” the blog said.

The potential for heavy snow and strong winds led Pepco to make robocalls to customers Tuesday saying the utility was “preparing and encourage our customers to prepare as well.”

Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker reminded residents to sign up for Notify Me Prince George's alerts on his Facebook page Tuesday, sharing his favoriet snowquester map yet (attached to this post).

“We have more than 450 overhead line contractors already working on the system and available, along with over 300 tree contractor crews actively performing reliability enhancement tree trimming work, in addition to preparing for restoration work,” the utility reported on its website.

The message encouraged customers to report outages and keep away from and report downed wires by calling 1-877-PEPCO-62 (1-877-737-2662), following the prompts, and asking for a call back to confirm that power has been restored.

Customers also may report outages at pepco.com.

Baltimore Gas and Electric also blogged on Patch about how they are preparing for the storm.

BGE Vice President, Customer Operations & Chief Customer Officer Jeannette M. Mills said, "We have been mobilizing employees, opening regional staging areas and bringing in extra crews and equipment from outside our service area"

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative is also preparing for the storm. Those customers can call 1-877-74-SMECO to report outages.

Live or sparking wires, especially those across roadways, may be reported by calling 911, the county government said in a news release. For downed trees on public property, call 311. Trees that have fallen on utility lines, should be reported to utilities at:

• Baltimore Gas and Electric: 877-778-2222.
• Pepco: 1-877-737-2662.
• SMECO: 1-877-747-6326

Other important numbers:

• For emergencies, call 911.
• For non-emergencies, contact Montgomery County Government at 311 or 240-777-0311.
• Residents concerned about the safety and well-being of children, the elderly or adults with disabilities should call the county’s Crisis Center at 240-777-4000.
• Other utilities:
  • Washington Gas: 1-800-752-7520.
  • Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission: 1-800-828-4002. 

For storm updates: 

• Prince George's County's Office of Emergency Management will announce county closures (including TheBus' status, trash and recycling collection and library and recreation center closures) via social media or call 301-780-8313.
• Prince George's County Public School closures will be announced via e-alerts, Facebook and Twitter.

Municipalities are preparing for the storm, contact local offices for more information about your community. Follow University of Maryland and Prince George's Community College via social media for their updates on closures.