Deep Snow, Power Losses Cripple Capital

Thick, wet snow blanketed the capital early Monday, shutting down most federal offices for the sixth day this year and cutting off power to more than 100,000 homes and businesses in the region.

Most of the federal government’s 300,000 employees--those whose presence on the job was deemed “non-essential”--were given the day off at the request of District of Columbia officials. Authorities had feared that snow, slush and fallen tree limbs would snarl commuter routes, but by midday, sunlight had broken through the clouds, the snow was melting and traffic was moving again.

The White House maintained a normal schedule, and all but one Supreme Court justice--Thurgood Marshall--showed up for work. On Capitol Hill, congressional employees slogged through the slush to open their offices and, at least, take phone calls from constituents.

“People call in from California and don’t understand if we’re not here,” said Linda Royster of Sen. Pete Wilson’s (R-Calif.) staff. “It’s pretty hard for them to understand why you can’t make it to work because of snow.”

Airports, Schools Closed

The storm left as much as 18 inches of snow in parts of the Northeast. Airports were shut down for hours, some schools were closed for the day and Amtrak train service on the busy corridor between Washington and New York was interrupted.

New Jersey declared a limited state of emergency for seven hours and the National Guard was put on standby alert after parts of the state got 16 inches of snow shortly before the morning rush hour.

The storm moved in from the South Sunday evening. It left 10 inches of snow in Washington and as much as 17 inches in parts of Virginia and Maryland, and made the trip into the District of Columbia impossible for many commuters.

During the night, residents of the area were awakened by explosions as tree limbs, bent or broken under the weight of the wet snow, snapped and fell on hundreds of power lines. About 141,000 homes and businesses were without electricity.

Work crews were brought in from as far away as Pennsylvania to help restore power in the District and in southern Maryland, said Tom Welle of Potomac Energy & Power Co. He said that it could take more than 24 hours to restore service to some areas.

‘Massive’ Power Outage

“This is one of the most massive outages Pepco has ever had,” he said. “I imagine it’s going to be at least a day before everything is back.”

At the District’s snow removal center, Mayor Marion Barry and other local officials struggled to avert a recurrence of the slow response that left the capital paralyzed after two storms late last month.

Barry--who was at the Super Bowl in Pasadena during the January storms--spent much of Monday on the streets of Washington, observing the removal of snow and tree limbs.

Federal officials could not say how many employees stayed home Monday, or how much the paid day off would cost the government. Most federal employees had five days off because of the storms last month.

The snowfall in Washington this winter has been the heaviest since 1978-79.