BY REBECCA BENNETT — Updated Sunday at 9:25 a.m. A trained spotter by the National Weather Service in the eastern portion of the Hyattsville area reported 18 inches of snow at 11:15 a.m. Saturday. The unofficial snow total from outside the Hyattsville Life & Times newsroom on Nicholson Street is approximately 19 to 24 inches in some spots as of 9 p.m. Saturday.
City of Hyattsville officials are urging people to stay in their homes. In the 9 a.m. hour, city officials said most main streets are passable, but side streets are not as Hyattsville work crews continue to plow the snow.
The City of Hyattsville’s originally said residents had an extension of 48 hours to remove snow from sidewalks, but released an updated statement Friday afternoon that said residents had 24 hours to remove snow from sidewalks, and that they would revisit any extension after the storm.
“We expect that we may have to extend up to 48 hours and maybe beyond, but we will make that decision at the end of the snowfall. Residents should refer to the City website for official information,” Hyattsville City Administrator Tracey Nicholson said. “We want our streets & sidewalks to be safe, but we also want to balance the need to keep our steets and sidewalks clear as soon as possible while being sensitive to the needs of our senior and disabled residents.”
As of 3:30 p.m., Pepco was not reporting any outages for the City of Hyattsville or the adjacent neighborhoods. However, there is a power outage in Takoma Park affecting more than 300 customers as of 5 p.m.
The blizzard has claimed at least two gazebos in the neighborhood.
