(Washington) A blizzard swept through Washington and its environs on Monday, particularly after a holiday marked by moderate temperatures, shutting down federal services and schools, halting buses and stressing air traffic disruptions.
The dome of the snow-capped Capitol, under the white blanket of White House snowflakes, skied the streets: about twenty centimeters of snow fell in the American capital.
After 2,650 flights were canceled on Sunday, 2,570 flights were canceled on Saturday, and at 8:30 pm (GMT 1:30 am), at least 3,173 domestic or international flights departing from or to the United States were canceled, according to the Flightaware website. About 6,800 flights were delayed during the day.
The blizzard added to the confusion that had already prevailed in aviation for several weeks in the United States due to the pollution of the Omigron variant of the Covit-19.
Earlier on Monday, President Joe Biden had to face a storm when he returned to the capital after a few days vacation in Delaware (East).
His Air Force One plane was stranded in Dorma for thirty minutes, while crews were able to clear the runway, and then the President’s convoy was significantly reduced on its way to the White House.
Snowball fight
“Be prepared for snowy and slippery roads, making traffic difficult,” a meteorological service bulletin warned, indicating high winds with heavy snowfall.
Photo by Caroline Castor, Associated Press
President Joe Biden had to face the storm when he returned to the capital after a few days vacation in Delaware.
At least 340,000 homes in Virginia and 67,000 homes in neighboring Maryland were hit by trees on high voltage lines under the weight of snow Monday evening.
On Monday morning the government announced the suspension of federal services in Washington, D.C., as a result of which the daily White House press conference was canceled, while the only vote scheduled for the day in the Senate was canceled and adjourned to Tuesday.
Facing the elements, the city was ordered to stop bus traffic, as well as to close the Govt-19 test centers and suspend the delivery of rapid tests.
Several schools across the Washington, Maryland and Virginia area were closed Monday.
At a time when many vehicles are stuck on the roads due to snow, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has been ordered to say, “If you do not need to go out, stay home and do not go on the road.”
Towards the end of the afternoon, due to the sunshine, many Americans gathered at the National Green Belt National Mall in the center of the capital for a major snowball fight.
