US east coast shut down as 'snowpocalypse' hits

Washington DC ground to a halt on Saturday as the US capital was blanketed in its heaviest snowfall in nearly a century by a storm dubbed “snowmageddon” and “snowpocalypse”.


The “white-out” blizzard dumped up to 32 inches of snow in some parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia were all pounded, receiving up to 2.5 feet (30 inches). After setting several records, the storm swept out to sea across New Jersey and Virginia, battering the mid-Atlantic shore with winds gusting to 40 miles an hour but largely skirting New York.


The snow brought down electricity lines, leaving at least 200,000 people without power. Several roofs collapsed and trees were felled, blocking roads. The weather has already been blamed for hundreds of accidents and the deaths of a father and son who were trying to help a crashed motorist in Virginia.
President Barack Obama had his own minor brush with the hazardous driving conditions as his motorcade navigated the short journey from the White House to the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee.
A heavy branch crashed into a car two vehicles from the president’s. In his speech, Mr Obama later referred to the storm as “snowmageddon”, embracing one of the favourite short-hands for the historic storm.
Transport networks were preparing to shut down and residents of some rural areas were warned they could be forced to spend up to five days indoors. Stores had earlier reported a run on food and basic necessities, with many people stocking up for supplies for Sunday evening parties to watch the Super Bowl, the biggest date in the America sporting calendar.
Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia each declared “snow emergencies”, allowing them to call in assistance from the National Guard. The predicted snowfall is the biggest in the US capital for 90 years.
The National Weather Service warned that conditions would be “extremely dangerous,” with heavy, wet snow and strong winds. They warned that transport would be affected and supplies to shops could be delayed.
Airlines cancelled flights, schools closed and the federal government sent workers home. Some hospitals asked people with four-wheel-drive vehicles to volunteer to pick up doctors and nurses to take them to work.
The National Zoo closed early and the Smithsonian museums planned to close on Saturday. Flights on Saturday afternoon were cancelled at Dulles International Airport in suburban Washington. Amtrak stopped most trains heading south from Washington, affecting fans heading to the Super Bowl in Miami.
In western Virginia, a tractor-trailer struck and killed a father and son who had stopped to help another driver who had crashed in snow on Interstate 81, Virginia State Police said. William Edward Smith Jr., 25, and 54-year-old William Edward Smith Sr. died at the scene, authorities said.
The storm comes less than two months after a storm on December 19th dumped more than 16 inches of snow on Washington.

The Telegraph. Feb 6, 2010.