The world’s most powerful city, brought to it’s knees once again:
A massive sleet and ice storm descended in force overnight on the Washington area, triggering the closure of most public school systems and many local governments, and prompting a two-hour delay in the opening of the federal government.
Frozen pellets rained down steadily before dawn, pinging noisily off buildings and roadways and leaving cars, streets and walkways encased in a thick layer of snow and granular ice.
Forecasters said the precipitation would taper off mid-morning, with temperatures remaining in the low 20s and winds picking up later in the day. Accumulation ranged from three to five inches, in outlying areas like Damascus and Winchester, to one to two inches closer to the District.
Metrobuses are running emergency routes only, but reported only scattered delays in rail service. Air travel ground to a halt.
Snowplows were trying to clear main roads, but conditions remained treacherous and motorists were advised to either stay home altogether or drive extremely slowly and carefully. Cars needed to warm up for 10 minutes or so before ice could be scraped off the windshields.
From what I’ve seen, the main roads appear passable. We shall see when I leave for work in about 30 minutes.
Update: Or, maybe not. Just got a call. The office is closed. Working from home today !
Well, I wouldn’t say paralyzed. The federal government is now open, as is my office, where people are slowly but surely trickling in. More of a pain in the ass storm than a paralyzing one, though I’m worried tomorrow morning could actually be worse than this one. With temperatures in the teens, DC is going to be one big open-air skating rink.