US East Coast, capital grappling with major winter storm
Over 600,000 people without power as storm brings heavy snow fall across Mid-Atlantic region
WASHINGTON
A wide swathe of the East Coast is being slammed by a major winter storm on Monday morning that is bringing significant snowfall to much of the Mid-Atlantic region, including the US capital.
Federal offices and schools in the Washington, D.C. area have been shuttered as the capital region braces for up to 8 inches (20 cm) of snowfall with the National Weather Service (NWS) warning that accumulation could reach up to 2 inches (5 cm) per hour. Other parts of the mid-Atlantic may receive up to 1 foot (30 cm) of snow.
"Thundersnow," a weather phenomenon marked by thunder and lightning during a snow storm, was likely, according to meteorologists.
"A major winter storm is underway across the Mid-Atlantic metro areas this morning," the NWS said on Twitter. "Snow-covered and slippery roads along with heavy snowfall and low visibility will make travel dangerous across the region through this morning."
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a snow emergency on Sunday evening, and the capital's Metro Bus service was forced to temporarily suspend service on Monday due to weather conditions.
The storm has already left thousands of people without power, including over 600,000 across the states of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina, according to the PowerOutage.US tracking website.
Separately, over 3,400 flights have been cancelled nationwide with the capital region's Reagan National, Dulles International and Baltimore/Washington International airports accounting for a wide swathe of halted flights, according to the FlightAware.com website.
