Washington DC shut down by another winter storm

Ice and as much as 10 inches of snow were forecast Monday in Washington, Baltimore and elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic region. Some 3,000 flights have been canceled. Is this winter's last gasp?

Winter kept its icy hold on much of the country Monday, with snow falling and temperatures starting to plummet from the Mid-Atlantic states up to the East Coast.

Snow began covering a thin layer of ice in the nation's capital early Monday, driven by a blustery wind that stung faces of those who ventured outside. Officials warned people to stay off treacherous, icy roads — a refrain that has become familiar to residents in the Midwest, East and even Deep South this year.

The latest frigid blow of the harsh winter threatened as much as 10 inches of snow by the end of the day in Washington, Baltimore and elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic region. Up to 6 inches of snow was predicted to the north in Philadelphia, where a light dusting fell early in the day, while nearly a foot of snow was expected in parts of New Jersey.

Schools were canceled, bus service was halted in places and federal government workers in the DC area were told to stay home Monday.

"We're tired of it. We're sick of it," said Martin Peace, a web developer from the Washington suburb of Arlington, Va.

He and his wife were walking on the National Mall with their young daughter Sunday before the frigid weather blew in. Both bemoaned the number of snowy days this year.

"It's been hard with a baby being stuck in the house," said Nicole Peace, who works in human resources. "We don't really get the day off, but then we have to work from home with the baby, which is hard."

The forecasts were enough to shut much of Washington down. The federal government closed its Washington-area offices Monday, with non-emergency personnel are granted excused absences for the day.

School systems in Baltimore, Washington and many suburban areas were closed, as were all Smithsonian museums except for the National Air and Space Museum. However, the U.S. Supreme Court was expected to be open and had arguments scheduled for Monday.

The wintry precipitation moved across much of the nation Sunday, bringing a mix of freezing rain and heavy snow to central and eastern states. Authorities warned of possible power outages and flight disruptions from weather that could affect millions.

Nearly 3,000 flights in the United States were canceled early Monday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.com. The bulk of the problems were at airports in Washington, New York and Philadelphia. There are more than 30,000 flights in the United States on a typical day.

In central Kentucky on Monday morning, vehicles moved slowly and quietly on roads that were mostly snow covered and slushy despite plows going through. The lines separating lanes were mostly invisible under the snow and ice, and at least a few cars had slid off the roadways.

In Ohio, crews in Cincinnati treated roads as a mix of freezing rain and snow fell late Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Patty Lee was among those braved treacherous conditions, driving some 20 miles from Cincinnati to suburban Blue Ash for a job interview. She joked that her first job test was making it through the icy parking lot without falling down.

"The roads are deteriorating pretty quickly," she said after returning to Cincinnati.

A suspension bridge over the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Kentucky was closed Sunday because of ice covering its hard-to-treat metal grid deck.

Freezing rain and sleet moved across Kentucky, making road travel treacherous Sunday. Officials warned residents to avoid unnecessary travel. Parts of the state could receive up to 8 inches of sleet and snow through Monday. Churches throughout the state canceled services.

Parts of West Virginia could also get up to a foot of snow. That sent residents on a hunt for food, water and supplies.

Linda McGilton of Charleston said she tries to be prepared but she also was not concerned.

"I don't try to panic. It doesn't do any good," McGilton of Charleston said as she unloaded a grocery cart outside the Kroger store.

Richmond, Va., was expected to get as many as 7 inches of snow Monday. Katilynn Allan, 22, bemoaned the city's unpredictable weather but said she was not too worried about driving if she had to make the short commute to her job as a financial planner.

"It's not too bad," said Allan. "You just have to take it slow when there is ice on the road.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Steve McMillan in Richmond, Va.; Bree Fowler in New York; Joe Mandak in Pittsburgh; Dan Sewell in West Chester, Ohio; Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, N.J.; and Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tenn.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Washington DC shut down by another winter storm
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0303/Washington-DC-shut-down-by-another-winter-storm
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe