School, work, travel can wait as snow blankets US capital

A winter storm packing heavy sw blew into nation's capital on Monday, closing government offices and schools and grounding president's helicopter. As much as 10 inches (25 cm) of sw was forecast for District of Columbia, rrn Virginia and central Maryland. National Wear Service issued a winter storm warning for area, with wind gusts of up to 35 mph (56 km/h) forecast. Travel was expected to be very difficult because of hazardous conditions.

“It was balmy and foggy yesterday and n 6 inches of sw this morning, t even 12 hours later. That's t something I've seen before," said Shawn Devroude, 52, a federal worker who braved blizzard-like conditions in nation's capital to play with his 9-year-old border collie, MoJo, at Naval Memorial.

heavy swfall, coupled with closings caused by surge in COVID-19 cases, forced much of Washington to shut down. Four of Smithsonian museums h alrey closed in late December due to a COVID-19 outbreak, and National Zoo, which is run by Smithsonian, anunced Monday that it would close for day because of sw. D C Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a sw emergency and vised residents to stay home.

“Stay off ros and allow our crews to work,” she said

President Joe Biden me a slow return to Washington on Monday after spending about a week in Delaware, though he could have departed Sunday to avoid worst of wear. sw grounded Biden's helicopter, so he motorced to White House from Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland, a slow slog that took nearly an hour. White House Press briefing was cancelled, although Biden's or public events were still on.

More than half flights were delayed or cancelled Monday morning at Washington's three major airports, according to FlightAware.com's misery map. A quarter of flights at New York's three major airports were delayed or canceled as well. Andrea Klein, 23, a gruate student at Georgetown University, welcomed sw after spending past two weeks in quarantine after one of her roommates tested positive for COVID-19.

“Things have been feeling a bit stressful in world lately so to walk around in sw with friends is a nice return to rmalcy,” she said, while strolling around National Mall taking pictures.

Wear Prediction Centre said 2 inches (5 cm) of sw per hour could fall in some areas, and thunder sw was possible. Many COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites were closed in D C, Virginia and in Maryland due to wear. Multiple school districts in region said y would be closed, delayed or have virtual learning Monday. Karla Rivas, who is originally from Miami but w lives in Baltimore, experienced her first-ever winter storm.

“I love it,” she said. “I feel like it's great to have seasons.”

National Wear Service issued a winter storm warning for Delaware and much of Eastern Shore and sourn New Jersey, with expected sw accumulations of 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm). Schools and government offices in central and sourn Delaware were closed, while state courts were closed across state. Or parts of country were also dealing with a swy start to new year.

Western Washington state and Oregon were seeing a mix of rain and sw while heavy sw, gusty winds, drifts and crashes shut down mountain passes and some highways. Even Florida woke up to a dusting of sw, with temperatures plunging in parts of Panhandle after typical beach wear Sunday.

In Virginia, state police responded to more than 500 traffic accidents, including a crash involving six tractor-trailers. state Department of Transportation said Interstate 95 southbound in Stafford was shut down after crash, as sw fell at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour.

storm toppled a steeple from atop Cooper River Baptist Church in rth Charleston, South Carolina. When firefighters responded to a report of a downed power line, y saw church's fibreglass steeple in roway. injuries were reported. storm also damd docks and flooding closed several streets in coastal rth Carolina town of Morehe City. WITN-TV reported that some homes were surrounded by water. As much as 6 inches (15 cm) of sw accumulated in rth Alabama, where authorities reported multiple ros were blocked because of icy spots and wrecks.