Gaithersburg Officials Urge Residents To Take Caution In Impending Snowstorm

With the storm dubbed "snowquester" bearing down on the Capital Region, Gaithersburg officials are urging residents to take caution.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for the region beginning Tuesday evening and lasting through Wednesday night. The NWS predicts accumulations of up to 5 inches or more in the region.

But could Gaithersburg see more? The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang is predicting the chances of five or more inches are 80 percent and the odds of 10 or more inches of snow are as high as 50 percent in Gaithersburg.

"Please make sure to make all the appropriate preperations. We hope we don't get hit too hard.... Do be careful out there," Gaithersburg City Councilmember Ryan Spiegel said during Monday night's Mayor and City Council meeting.

During the same meeting, Councilmember Jud Ashman took a moment to encourage city residents to sign up for Alert Gaithersburg, Gaithersburg's emergency notification system.

Alert Gaithersburg delivers important emergency alerts, notifications and updates to several electronic devices simultaneously, including multiple e-mail accounts, cell phones, text pagers, and wireless PDA’s, according to the city.

"It's real handy in times like these," Ashman said.

Absent from Monday night's meeting, Gaithersburg City Council Vice President Michael A. Sesma chimed in via Twitter.

Sesma posted a press release from Pepco — the power company says it is "closely monitoring an approaching winter storm" — and told residents to "charge your phones. Get out the flashlights."