The District of Columbia was hit Sunday by its first major winter storm of the season, leaving the nation’s capital blanketed in snow and sleet that left much of the Eastern U.S. enduring bitter cold, widespread power outages and treacherous road conditions.
Early morning flurries transitioned into freezing rain that the National Weather Service said would persist well into the night as D.C. work crews hustled to stay ahead of the icy onslaught.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport canceled all flights Sunday. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Maryland and Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia also had mass cancellations on their runways.
The winter weather kicks off a frigid stretch. Temperatures in the region will drop into the single digits, while highs are not expected to climb back above freezing before next week.
Local authorities said they were helping stranded drivers and responding to major crashes in the region as the precipitation continued to coat the roads.
“Only travel if absolutely necessary — read a book, catch up on your favorite show and spend time with your loved ones,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement. “Let’s give our snow teams plenty of space to clear the roads and keep our city moving forward.”
The Arlington County Fire Department said a government vehicle slid off South Glebe Road and crashed into a home near the intersection with Walter Reed Drive. No injuries were reported.
Alexandria Police reported that an overturned truck closed the southbound lanes of Van Dorn Street from Eisenhower Avenue as crews worked to get traffic moving.
Motorists also struggled to navigate the slick roads along the National Mall.
A driver got stuck in a small snow embankment on 14th Street Northwest near the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
A U.S. Capitol Police officer and other bystanders, including two men who dismounted from their skis, began clearing snow from under the man’s tires as others tried to push the vehicle out. It wasn’t until a passing pickup truck driver secured a strap to the car’s bumper that the sedan could be freed.
Others on the National Mall were out enjoying the winter wonderland.
Nicholas Barrett, a senior at George Washington University, said the snow day offered a perfect opportunity to dart around the Mall on his electric bike.
He ventured from Foggy Bottom, and although he said he “nearly crashed about 10 times,” he added that he was determined to make it downtown.
Mr. Barrett, who said he was a Marine, planned on ending his adventure at the Korean War Memorial on the Mall’s western end.
“That’s the thing for me that is really special,” he said. “It commemorates the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir when it was 30 below. The boys were freezing, and that’s what they really did look like, covered in snow.”
Plans for a snowball fight on the Mall were scuttled by organizers early Sunday when the snow turned to sleet. That didn’t stop a small militia from gathering in the shadow of the Washington Monument to do battle.
Firing lines were formed, and arms were cocked back at the ready, even as most of the projectiles dissolved midair. The roughly three dozen combatants eventually gave up on trying to fling well-formed powder at each other and began dogpiling on someone unfortunate enough to slip in the snow.
Rich Newman said he took the Metro in from Silver Spring to join in the fight. He acknowledged the snow was less than ideal for making a snowball, but he said overall the conditions made for a fun experience.
“This is probably the best one because this is the most snow we’ve gotten in a really long time,” said Mr. Newman, referencing two other times he made the trek as a snowball combatant.
The National Weather Service said 5 to 8 inches of the wintry mix had accumulated across the District and its suburbs by midday. Some communities around Baltimore recorded up to 10 inches of snow, officials said.
Virginia schools began canceling Monday classes, including the public districts in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, as well as the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church.
In Maryland, schools in Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Howard County and Prince George’s County are closed Monday. Baltimore County and Montgomery County have ordered their schools closed through Tuesday.
D.C. Public Schools had not announced school status for Monday, but multiple charter schools, such as Center City, Cornerstone, KIPP, and Statesman College Preparatory Academy for Boys, announced closures.
The federal government moved to full telework Monday, while municipal governments in the national capital area also announced their closures for Monday.
Beyond the D.C. region, more than 1 million people were suffering through power outages, particularly in the Southeast, where ice concentrations were heavier.
Nearly 318,000 people were without power in Tennessee, or just over 9% of customers tracked by poweroutage.us. In Mississippi, another 149,000 were without electricity, representing more than 10% of customers.
More than 136,000 people in Louisiana lost power, while 87,000 in Georgia and 77,000 in Texas were without power. About 67,000 people in Kentucky lost their electricity.
Louisiana authorities reported that two men died from hypothermia in the state’s Caddo Parrish, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said five people were found dead outside amid the deep freeze.
In upstate New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul said towns near the Canadian border registered record-breaking low temperatures. In Watertown, for example, temperatures dipped to minus 34 degrees Fahrenheit.
Snowfall totals have reached 15 inches in Pennsylvania, 12 inches in New Jersey and 10 inches in New York as the heart of the storm moved into the Northeast by the evening.
The forecast for Monday calls for a high of 29 degrees in the District and a low of 10 degrees, while Tuesday will have a projected high of 28 degrees and a low of 14 degrees.
