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D.C. gears up for winter after last year's snowcrete chaos

Mimi Montgomery

Winter scene of the U.S. Capitol dome in the distance, framed by huge piles of snow; a heavy excavator bucket dominates the right foreground with a sunset sky. — Snow is cleared and deposited near the Capitol in January. Photo: Alex Kent/Getty Images

The leaves are only just starting to fall, but D.C. is already gearing up for winter.

Why it matters: The city doesn't want a repeat of last winter's epic storm, when some residents were left trapped with snowcrete for weeks — a situation that left the District with $67 million in clean-up fees and backlash from locals who questioned city preparedness.

Driving the news: Last week, the District's Snow Team ran a five-day dry run of its winter storm response, led by the city's Department of Public Works (DPW) alongside the Department of Transportation.

"With the pace of climate change accelerating, we should expect that our systems will be more severe and unusual," DPW interim director Chris Rodriguez said at a press conference last week, per WTOP. "So, we need to be ready."

What's new: DPW has improved its technology to better track snow plow deployment.

Its fleet now includes almost 100 electric and biodiesel-powered trucks.

The intrigue: The National Weather Service put together a faux snowstorm forecast for the simulation, during which higher-ups practiced sending resources across the city as the "storm" worsened and plow drivers did dry runs of their routes.

Yes, but: We might see below-average snowfall this winter, according to AccuWeather.

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D.C. gears up for winter after last year's snowcrete chaos

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