Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States and a city usually bustling with all kinds of activity was brought to a stand still Friday, Feb. 5th by a record-breaking snowstorm. The storm nicknamed “snowmagedden” paralyzed majority of the eastern US, from New York down to Pennsylvania.
With 54.9 inches of snow this winter, “snomaggedden” has made the winter of 2009- 2010 the snowiest to ever hit Washington, D.C., according to the National Weather Service. The most comparable amount was the 54.4 inches that fell in the winter of 1898! Most news outlets are saying that it is the worst storm to hit since the winter of 1996.
The snowstorm began to fall Friday afternoon and continued all the way into Saturday evening. CNN meteorologists estimated 40 inches or three and a half feet had fallen. People all over the city were snowed in and could not leave their homes to go to work or could. Many homes throughout D.C., Maryland, and Virginia were without power. Over the course of the storm the roofs on 22 homes collapsed.
The entire city was closed. Streets that usually have heavy traffic like such as Georgia Avenue, U Street, and Irving Street were barren. Stores, restaurants, shopping mall and other non-essential businesses were all closed. The city set in for a very quiet weekend. In central Pennsylvania, Interstate 80 near Clearfield was shut down Wednesday after two traffic pileups -- one involving 17 cars and the other involving seven cars, said Rich Kirkpatrick of the state's Department of Transportation in an article on CNN.com. Mayor Adrian Fenty and other city employees went to work clearing the snow on Sunday morning. He hoped to have the city up and running again by Monday morning.
All three area airports, Baltimore Washington, Dulles, and Regan International, were closed and thousands of flights were cancelled in an attempt to avoid flying in the dangerous conditions.
Majority of stores and malls reopened on Monday; however, federal offices, public schools, and several universities closed on Feb. 5 and have not reopened. The universities have been closed now for an entire week. Now students and professors will have to cover the same material in less time.
According to a press release on WMATA.com, metro services have been limited on and off since Feb. 5 when metro services were ended early at 9 p.m. Services were limited to underground only from Feb. 6 to the 8. Full services were restored on Feb. 9 but were limited again on Feb. 10.
Part two of the storm hit Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Before the city could clear all the snow from the first wave could be completely cleared another 15 inches fell, as estimated by FOX news. This storm had much stronger winds and lower visibility than the first storm.
Throughout the streets of D.C. youth of all ages are taking the time out of school to build snowmen, sled and ski down hills and have snowball fights. College students also read and study in preparation for the overdrive that will come once schools open again.
One group of people especially affected by the storm was the homeless. Many poured into shelters in the area in order to protect themselves from the snow and subzero temperatures. A large group of volunteers at the DC Central shelter began preparing for the influx of homeless as soon as they heard the reports about “snomaggeden.” They prepared over 15,000 meals. Other homeless people decided to brave the storm on their own and wrapped up while sitting on benches in public parks. A program called Hypothermia Watch Partner Program, sponsored by the D.C. Department of Human Services, provides D.C. residents with a number to call if they see someone outside in freezing temperatures. A van will then go a pick the person up and take them to a shelter.
After a week of consistent snowfall, “snowmaggeden” 2010 is finally over. The streets are cleared and now the city is ready to get back to its normal pace. Schools are on the way to being reopened and all will be business as usual very soon.
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