WASHINGTON, Feb 6, (AFP) -An “extremely dangerous” blizzard expected to dump record amounts of snow pounded the eastern United States, closing down the US capital and threatening to trap millions indoors for days.
The storm, dubbed “Snowpocalypse” and “Snowmageddon” by many locals, stretched from Indiana to Pennsylvania and into parts of New York and North Carolina, creating treacherous travel conditions, shutting Washington area airports and leading several states to declare emergencies.
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| A residential neighborhood near the US Capital is transformed by the snow. AFP |
The storm “will significantly impact most of the region through Saturday,”the NWS said.
Forecasters said the Washington region would be hardest-hit, describing overnight Friday to Saturday travel conditions in the area as “hazardous and life-threatening.”They issued a blunt warning: help area emergency workers “by staying off the roads.”The NWS forecast up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snow in the capital region, which would shatter Washington's 88-year-old record snowfall of 28 inches, in the “Great Knickerbocker Storm.”That blizzard, which slammed the region in January 1922, got its name from the collapse of the Knickerbocker Theatre in Washington, killing nearly 100 people.
The US capital rarely gets so much snow: according to NWS data, since 1870 the Washington area has had more than a foot (30.5 cm) of snow only 13 times -- including just six weeks ago, when a monster December storm dumped 16 inches (41 cm) on Washington.The blizzard warning means “severe winter weather conditions,” which includes “falling and blowing snow with strong winds... that will lead to whiteout conditions,” the NWS said.
Washington's two main airports, Reagan National and Dulles International, had limited flights Friday. All flights were cancelled for Saturday at Reagan National, while some international flights were still to operate at Dulles, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said.
Late Friday, the national capital was left without bus service as the metropolitan transit authority deemed the roadways “impassable.”The metro shut down 40 above ground stations, with Metro Acting Deputy General Manager Dave Kubicek saying the service was “fast-reaching the point where we risk trains becoming stranded on snow-covered tracks.”The measures effectively meant that Washington's outlying suburbs have been left without public transportation.
The governors of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware declared states of emergency, a move that puts the National Guard on alert. |
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