- Title: USA: Federal government shuts down as Washington, D.C. recovers from a blizzard
- Date: 9th February 2010
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 8, 2010) (REUTERS) WOMAN AND MAN SHOVELING SNOW FROM PAVEMENT ON CITY STREET MAN SHOVELING U.S. FLAG FLYING ABOVE TREASURY BUILDING AS SEEN THROUGH SNOW COVERED TREES ICICLES HANGING FROM ROOF OF BUILDING DAMAGED TREES, PILES OF SNOW AND WHITE HOUSE IN DISTANCE BROKEN BRANCH ON TREE STATUE COVERED WITH SNOW STATUE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON WITH SNOW ON ARM STATUE WITH SNOW ON HEAD BROKEN BRANCHES LAYING ON SNOW COVERED PAVEMENT EXTERIOR OF WHITE HOUSE AND SNOW COVERED NORTH LAWN (SOUNDBITE) (English) JACKIE TOOGOOD, VISITING FROM LONDON, ENGLAND, SAYING: "We were up yesterday at six-thirty and wanted to watch the sunrise over the Washington memorial. So for us, it was just so peaceful and so quiet. And somebody had said to us there was no aircraft in the air. There were no vehicles. So it was just crisp and clean and just perfect. We are just over the moon. We're really excited about being here." PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, AND WOMAN JOGGING (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHN MCMAHON, VISITING FROM ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, SAYING: "We came here for a wedding, and the rehearsal dinner was a tough situation. The bride and groom didn't even show up. But the wedding - they showed up for the wedding, which was very nice." EXTERIOR OF U.S. TREASURY BUILDING STATUE COVERED WITH SNOW OUTSIDE OF TREASURY BUILDING U.S. FLAGS LINING PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE AND U.S. CAPITOL BUILDING IN DISTANCE PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE COVERED IN SNOW U.S. CAPITOL DOME IN DISTANCE CARS PARKED NEAR INTERSECTION COVERED IN SNOW, VIRTUALLY BURIED PEOPLE WALKING ON SNOW COVERED PAVEMENT NEAR WHITE HOUSE GROUNDS
- Embargoed: 24th February 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Weather
- Reuters ID: LVA1ZG3IVR1B275XTVPN7ISMJU0B
- Story Text: The U.S. federal government was virtually closed for business on Monday (February 8) and most schools planned to shut down as residents of the U.S. mid-Atlantic struggled to dig out from a blizzard that dumped two feet (half a meter) of snow on the region.
Winter sunshine bathed the nation's capital, where pedestrians outnumbered cars on deserted and mostly unplowed streets. Up to 32 inches (81 cm) of snow had fallen in suburban Washington in the biggest snowfall to hit the city in decades.
The U.S. government's Office of Personnel Management said that federal agencies in the Washington area would remain closed on Monday. Only employees involved in emergency services were expected to report for duty..
Tourists visiting Washington's sites said it was a special experience.
"We were up yesterday at six-thirty and wanted to watch the sunrise over the Washington memorial. So for us, it was just so peaceful and so quiet. And somebody had said to us there was no aircraft in the air. There were no vehicles. So it was just crisp and clean and just perfect. We are just over the moon. We're really excited about being here," Jackie Toogood, visiting from London said.
John McMahon and his wife Millie traveled to Washington for a wedding. John said the weather caused some unexpected changes for the rehearsal dinner.
"We came here for a wedding, and the rehearsal dinner was a tough situation. The bride and groom didn't even show up. But the wedding - they showed up for the wedding, which was very nice," John McMahon said.
The worst winter storm to hit the Washington area in decades shut down the area's three major airports for much of the day on Sunday (February 7). Bus service was halted and the region's subway ran trains only on the underground portion of the system.
Washington Dulles International Airport reported its airfield was open for limited operations, but Washington Reagan National Airport was not expected to re-open before mid-morning on Monday, their websites said. Baltimore-Washington International Airport re-opened one runway, but commercial flight activity was expected to be limited, the airport said on its website.
Weather forecasters warned another storm would arrive by Tuesday evening (February 9), bringing as much as 12 more inches (35 cm) of snow to the mid-Atlantic region between Washington and New York. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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