Marines


News
Base Logo
Official U.S. Marine Corps Website
Crossroads of the Marine Corps
Photo Information

Marine Corps Base Quantico was Code Red on March 5 and Code Blue until noon on Friday due to heavy snowfall that blanketed the region with up to 7 inches of snow in some locations, according to the National Weather Service.

Photo by Eve A. Baker

Late-season snow gives way to sunshine, rising temperatures

13 Mar 2015 | Eve A. Baker Marine Corps Base Quantico

In what many local residents are hoping was winter’s last, dying gasp, a storm blanketed the region with snow March 5, closing the base, and schools and businesses in the surrounding counties. Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico’s Weather Services staff recorded 3.5 inches of snow aboard the base, while locations around Prince William County recorded between 4.8 and 7.3 inches, and Stafford County recorded 4.5-5.5 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

For the second Thursday in a row, the base went Code Red, and snow removal operations kicked off. The volume of snow and its arrival later that day required a delayed start on Friday so the roads and parking lots could be fully cleared. Civilian plow operators from Facilities Maintenance and Marines from the motor pool worked around the clock to plow the paved surfaces aboard the base.

Lance Cpl. Tom Cald-well, a motor transport operator from the base motor pool, was on duty during the height of the storm, driving a large dump truck that had been retrofitted with a plow attachment and salt/sand spreader. Caldwell said the Marines were working in eight-hour shifts, and he was on from 1–9 p.m.

Caldwell has been driving for the Marine Corps since 2013, though he primarily drives buses. To become certified to drive the plow, he had to earn a dump truck license and take an 8-hour snow plowing course. A native of Athens, Georgia, Caldwell said the storm on March 5 was the worst winter weather he had ever seen.

The morning after the storm, however, dawned cold and clear. Though MCAF recorded the high for the day at only 27 degrees, Friday was the first full day of sunshine in weeks.

The sunshine was a constant presence over the weekend, and temperatures rose rapidly. Saturday’s high temperature aboard the base was recorded as 50 degrees, and Sunday’s high temperature was 61. The warm weather brought out cyclists and runners all over base and in neighboring Prince William Forest National Park.

The base’s students enjoyed the day off on both March 5 and Friday, and signs of sledding activity were spotted at Butler Stadium and other locations around the base. The closures, however, caused headaches for school administrators and forced the cancellation of the town hall meeting concerning Crossroads Elementary for the second time. The event has been rescheduled for today at 6 p.m. and will be held in the gym at Russell Elementary School.

— Writer: ebaker@quanticosentryonline.com








Marine Corps Base Quantico