Science News

An “extremely dangerous” blizzard expected to dump record amounts of snow swept across much of 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.

The National Weather Service put the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area under a rare 24-hour blizzard warning starting at 10:00 pm Friday (0300 GMT Saturday).

Forecasters said the Washington region would be hardest-hit, describing overnight Friday to Saturday travel conditions in the area as “hazardous and life-threatening.”

The storm “will significantly impact most of the region through Saturday,” the NWS said.

The NWS forecast up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snow in the capital region, which would shatter Washingtons 88-year-old record snowfall of 28 inches, in the “Great Knickerbocker Storm.”

They issued a blunt warning: help area emergency workers “by staying off the roads.”

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.

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.

Unlike in northern US cities, few area residents in the greater metropolitan Washington area of some eight million people have the knowledge or gear to get around in snowy weather.

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.

“Folks in Washington dont seem to be able to handle things when it comes to the weather,” the newly-sworn in president said at the time.

President Barack Obama, who lived in snowy Chicago for years, mocked Washington-area schools last year for closing due to a few inches of snow and ice.

“Even a transplanted Hawaiian to Chicago has sufficient respect for a forecast of up to two feet of snow,” said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

On Friday he had changed his tune.

It urged passengers against traveling to either airport to re-book cancelled flights.

Washingtons two main airports, Reagan National and Dulles International, had limited flights Friday. All flights were canceled for Saturday at Reagan National, while some international flights were still to operate at Dulles, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said.

“The National Guard has more than 100 Humvees and five-ton trucks and military ambulances ready to respond” in Maryland, Governor Martin OMalley said.

The governors of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware declared states of emergency, a move that puts the National Guard on alert.

“Until further notice, the emergency declaration allows only emergency vehicles and essential personnel on the roads,” a statement from Markells office said.

In nearby Delaware, Governor Jack Markell ordered all vehicles off the roads starting at 10:00 pm (0300 GMT Saturday).

By the early afternoon the normally vibrant Washington was close to a ghost town, with federal employees scurrying home on public transportation.

Desperate last-minute shoppers besieged supermarkets Friday to stock up on provisions, as official warnings blared on radio and television, urging residents to be prepared to stay inside for up to five days.

Jane Bate, 41, who emigrated to the United States from the Philippines in March, headed out to a local supermarket early Friday after neighbors warned her to prepare for the worst.

Courts, schools, government offices, even military bases closed early to beat the storm which started to dump snow on the capital and its suburbs by mid-day.

“I got there at 7:00 am and there were really long queues, and the place looked like it had been ransacked,” she told AFP.