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D.C. region begins digging out after major snowstorm finally moves on D.C. region begins digging out after major snowstorm finally moves on
(about 5 hours later)
A Washington region at wit’s end with winter dug out for the second time in 24 hours Friday, groaning under the weight of the area’s most significant snowfall in four years. A Washington region at wit’s end with winter dug out for the second time in 24 hours Friday, groaning under the weight of the area’s most significant snowfall in four years.
The morning commute got off to a slower start than usual, with slightly less traffic on the major roadways — in part because all public schools in the region were closed and the federal government was opening two hours late. The region staggered into the day like a punch-drunk fighter, praying for this round of winter to end. Many people awakened to the scrape of snow shovels and listened for the deeper growl of snow plows. People who owned snow blowers felt vindicated for their investment.
The region staggered into the day like a punch-drunk fighter, praying for this round of winter to end. Many people awakened to the scrape of snow shovels and listened for the deeper growl of snow plows. People who owned snow blowers felt vindicated for their investment.
Though the sun was shining, snow flurries and sub-freezing temperatures were forecast for the weekend.Though the sun was shining, snow flurries and sub-freezing temperatures were forecast for the weekend.
Many local governments in the D.C. area said most of their roads were plowed and treated by midday Friday and that crews were gradually working on smaller, side streets. The morning commute got off to a slower start than usual, with slightly less traffic on the major roadways — in part because all public schools in the region were closed and the federal government opened two hours late.
“We’re hoping we make really significant progress today,” said Joan Morris, a spokeswoman with the Virginia Department of Transportation. “It’s not curb-to-curb 100 percent perfect yet, but certainly people can get around the major roads.” Many local governments in the D.C. area said most of their roads were plowed and treated by midday Friday and that crews were gradually working on smaller side streets.
Maryland Highway Administration spokesman Charlie Gischlar said the state’s numbered roads and instates would be plowed by Friday evening. “We’re hoping we make really significant progress today,” said Joan Morris, a spokeswoman with the Virginia Department of Transportation. “It’s not curb-to-curb 100­­ percent perfect yet, but certainly people can get around the major roads.”
Maryland Highway Administration spokesman Charlie Gischlar said the state’s numbered roads and interstates would be plowed by Friday evening.
“Yesterday we wanted to make it passable,” he said. “Today we went through and we’re currently pushing back on the shoulders, making sure the ramps are shoulder to shoulder.”“Yesterday we wanted to make it passable,” he said. “Today we went through and we’re currently pushing back on the shoulders, making sure the ramps are shoulder to shoulder.”
Montgomery County spokesman Patrick Lacefield said sunshine and elevated temperatures were softening the snow and making it “a pretty good day for plowing.” Montgomery has 220 snow routes, and all were being dealt with simultaneously, he said. County crews were scheduled to go into central business districts in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Wheaton with trucks Friday night to load snow and haul it away. Montgomery County spokesman Patrick Lacefield said sunshine and elevated temperatures were softening the snow and making it “a pretty good day for plowing.” County crews were scheduled to go into central business districts in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Wheaton with trucks Friday night to load snow and haul it away.
“The real issues is side streets,” said Taran Hutchinson, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination program, a partnership of area transportation departments. “There are slick spots here and there. You have got to take it slow.”
“The roads are passable as crews have gotten to them, but people have to dig themselves out of parking spots and side streets, and it is going to be a bit of a challenge for this first day back.”
In the District, Department of Public Works spokeswoman Linda Grant said plowing operations were largely over.In the District, Department of Public Works spokeswoman Linda Grant said plowing operations were largely over.
“Whether plowing or salting, we’ve been over virtually every street,” Grant said, “but we always know there is going to be some street. . . that is missed, so we ask residents to call 311 to report that you need attention to your street.” “Whether plowing or salting, we’ve been over virtually every street,” Grant said, “but we always know there is going to be some street . . . that is missed, so we ask residents to call 311 to report that you need attention to your street.”
Snowfall varied around the D.C. region. As of Friday morning, nearly 18 inches had fallen in Gaithersburg, according to the National Weather Service. Seventeen inches fell in the District, 13 inches in West Falls Church and eight inches in Alexandria. Though there was general agreement from almost everyone — except school children — that the region’s cold, harsh winter had lingered too long, the findings of one researcher suggested they should buck up.
You step in a slush puddle that turns out to be shin-deep and now your feet are icy-wet — in that way, winter can be annoying. But the notion that cold temperatures and a gray sky are depressing, that bleak weather puts the populace in a communal funk – the so-called winter blues – appears to be a myth, said David Kerr, a clinical psychologist who has studied the effect of climate on mood.
“People have long assumed that most of us get depressed by winter automatically,” said Kerr, who teaches at Oregon State University. “That’s what I wanted to test: Do most people show this trend? Does winter mean that most people are more sad, they have trouble sleeping, trouble with appetite?
“And the answer, I believe, is no.”
Here’s why he thinks that:
At the behest of researchers, 760 folks in Iowa and Oregon have been recording their moods during various seasons, some for as long as 17 years. The information has been used again and again by academics studying how crime, economic changes and other issues impact people’s dispositions. Kerr and Jeff Shaman, a Columbia University researcher, wanted to know how the weather made people feel.
So they compiled highly detailed weather data — specific to time and place — for each person’s notes about his or her moods through the years.
“We found a modest association between time of year and depressive symptoms, so that, yes, some people were slightly more depressed in winter,” said Kerr, whose study was published last year. “But it was so modest that it did not seem to us to be something that the average person would even notice.”
Because the idea of the winter blues is so popular — reinforced by winter advertisements for getaway warm-weather vacations — most people assume that other people must be feeling blah in February, that bad moods are commonplace this time of year.
“But we were surprised to find that that just isn’t the case,” Kerr said.
Snowfall varied around the D.C. region. As of Friday morning, nearly 18 inches had fallen in Gaithersburg, according to the National Weather Service. There were 17 inches in the District, 13 inches in West Falls Church and eight inches in Alexandria.
It was the heaviest snowfall in the area since the “Snowmageddon” storm of 2010.It was the heaviest snowfall in the area since the “Snowmageddon” storm of 2010.
Metrobus, which suspended operations Thursday afternoon because of weather conditions, resumed bus service at 5 a.m. Friday, but only on selected major routes.
VRE and MARC trains operated Friday on an “S Schedule.”
Nearly 1,500 flights across the country were canceled.Nearly 1,500 flights across the country were canceled.
At Ronald Reagan National Airport, 74 flights were canceled Friday morning, and an additional 39 were canceled at Washington Dulles International Airport, according to FlightAware, a Houston-based flight tracking firm. At Baltimore-Washington International Airport, about 30 flights were canceled. Dulles had three runways open Friday, while Reagan had its main runway open. None of the runways were closed Thursday at BWI. At Reagan National Airport, 74 flights were canceled Friday morning, and an additional 39 were canceled at Washington Dulles International Airport, according to FlightAware, a Houston-based flight-tracking firm. At Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, about 30 flights were canceled. Dulles had three runways open Friday, while Reagan had its main runway open. None of the runways were closed Thursday at BWI.
The heavy snowfall that began late Wednesday kept the bulk of the region’s residents at home. The storm was linked to at least four deaths in the Washington region. A Virginia Department of Transportation contract truck driver working to clear roads died Thursday after he was struck by another VDOT truck in Ashburn. Virginia State Police said Lovo Guevara Geovany Arnoldo, 32, of Vienna, pulled off the road and was standing behind his truck when he was hit by the second VDOT truck.
The storm was linked to at least four deaths in the Washington region. A Virginia Department of Transportation contract truck driver working to clear roads died after he was struck by another VDOT truck in Ashburn. Virginia State Police said Lovo Guevara Geovany Arnoldo, 32, of Vienna, pulled off the road and was standing behind his truck when he was hit by the second VDOT truck.
In Howard County, Md., two men in their 50s died after collapsing while shoveling snow, one in Woodstock and the other in Columbia, said Marc Fischer, a spokesman for Howard’s fire and rescue department. A third man was found dead outside, but officials did not know how he had died. Autopsies were expected to be performed Friday.In Howard County, Md., two men in their 50s died after collapsing while shoveling snow, one in Woodstock and the other in Columbia, said Marc Fischer, a spokesman for Howard’s fire and rescue department. A third man was found dead outside, but officials did not know how he had died. Autopsies were expected to be performed Friday.
A Fairfax County man died Thursday after helping a neighbor clear a snow-covered driveway, his family said.A Fairfax County man died Thursday after helping a neighbor clear a snow-covered driveway, his family said.
Peter C. Williams, 67, was using a snow blowing machine on a hilly driveway in the 1800 block of Collingwood Road in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County when he collapsed, his former brother-in-law John Hooff said. Williams was transported to Mt. Vernon Hospital around 11:20 a.m., Fairfax County fire officials said. Peter C. Williams, 67, was using a snowblower on a hilly driveway in the 1800 block of Collingwood Road in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County when he collapsed, his former brother-in-law John Hooff said. Williams was transported to Mt. Vernon Hospital around 11:20 a.m., Fairfax County fire officials said.
Williams, an attorney, was active in the Rotary Club of Alexandria.Williams, an attorney, was active in the Rotary Club of Alexandria.
“He was an absolute prince of a man,” Hooff said. “He was a friend to everyone…It’s just really said. He died trying to help someone.” “He was an absolute prince of a man,” Hooff said. “He was a friend to everyone. . . . It’s just really said. He died trying to help someone.”
The wintry onslaught left at least 21 people dead along the East Coast, including a pregnant woman who was struck by a snowplow in New York City and whose baby was then born by Cesarean section, the Associated Press reported. Her baby was reported in critical condition. The wintry onslaught left at least 21 people dead along the East Coast, including a pregnant woman who was struck by a snowplow in New York City and whose baby was then born by Cesarean section, the Associated Press reported. Her baby was reportedly in critical condition.
Swaths of the Northeast were hit harder than the Washington area: more than 22 inches of snow blanketed Somerset County, Pa., and parts of Upstate New York got up to 27 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Dana Hedgpeth, Bill Turque, Aaron Davis, Matt Zapotosky, Julie Zauzmer, Caitlin Gibson, Patricia Sullivan, Antonio Olivo, Luz Lazo and Justin Jouvenal contributed to this report.
As the storm moved from the South through the Northeast on Wednesday and Thursday, about 1.2 million utility customers lost power. By Friday morning, the outages had dropped to about 440,000, mostly in South Carolina and Georgia.
Bill Turque, Debbi Wilgoren, Matt Zapotosky, Julie Zauzmer, Dan Morse, Theresa Vargas, Michael E. Ruane. T. Rees Shapiro, Michael Rosenwald, Katherine Shaver, Caitlin Gibson, Steve Hendrix, Patrick Svitek, Emma Brown, Patricia Sullivan, Martin Weil, Susan Svrluga, Paul Duggan, Keith Alexander, Antonio Olivo, Michael A. Chandler, Lynh Bui, Luz Lazo, Lori Aratani, Mike DeBonis, Mark Berman, Justin Jouvenal, Brigid Schulte, Katherine Shaver, Donna St. George, Victoria St. Martin, Laura Vozzella, John Wagner, Ovetta Wiggins and Clarence Williams contributed to this report.