weather forecast

Snow to start falling in DC area, 2-4 inches expected on Sunday

D.C., Maryland and Virginia could see another 2 to 4 inches of snow on Sunday

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Storm Team4 has the weather forecast.

Another round of snow is headed for the Washington, D.C., area. Snow will arrive Sunday morning.

This snow won’t be anything close to a crippling blizzard, but it could impact travel.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for much of the metro D.C. area Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It issued a winter storm warning for areas to the north and west.

Check for all weather alerts here.

The frigid temperatures, which will begin dropping Saturday evening, prompted D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to activate the District's Hypothermia Alert. She shared emergency hotlines in a statement to social media.

Bowser also said she will deploy the District Snow Team beginning late Saturday night.

Prince George's County issued a statement saying it has altered its snow response after criticism over how the last storm was handled.

“Snow operations during our last storm did not meet residents’ expectations or the high standards we strive to maintain as a department,” Department of Public Works and Transportation Director Michael Johnson said. “We have implemented adjustments to strengthen our response and these improvements have prepared us for a better response during this round of winter weather.”  

The county said it would begin pretreating hills, cold spots and residential roads Saturday, then begin salting of residential areas at 4 a.m. Sunday.

With snow expected to start falling in the DMV area Sunday, News4's Dominique Moody looks at how crews are preparing for the winter weather. 

In Virginia, the Department of Transportation said crews didn't pretreat roads because the storm was expected to start as rain, which would wash away the pretreatment before it changed to snow.

Public schools in Loudoun, Montgomery and Prince George's counties are closed for any activities on school campuses. Alexandria's libraries will be closed Sunday, and Loudoun County closed its facilities.

Follow closings and delays here.

When will the snow start in the D.C. area?

Expect precipitation around sunrise, but not too much.

Snow will start will a light dusting in the early morning but will be much more widespread by 11 a.m. and continue coming down heavy in the afternoon, causing reduced visibility and icy conditions on the roads and sidewalks.

The snow will move out Sunday evening, with not much falling precipitation by 7 p.m. Falling temperatures could make conditions extremely icy.

Next week will be brutally cold from Monday through Thursday (and many roads, plus some Metro stations, will be closed for the presidential inauguration). The cold is expected to be so intense that President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration will move indoors.

Temperatures will be in the low 20s Monday, but with wind gusts of 35 mph, wind chills could be around 10 degrees and even in the single digits.

Tuesday and Wednesday will be frigid as well.

How much snow will fall in the D.C. area?

The D.C. area could see 2-4 inches of snow.

Three to 5 inches is expected to the north and west.

And south and east of the D.C. area, expect a trace to 2 inches.

Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.

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