Snowpocalypse

Record-Breaking Winter Wonderland

Washington beats 110-year-old snowfall record.

From Washington to New York, the East Coast was shut down by a second huge snowstorm within a week. Total snowfall in Washington hit 54.9 inches, breaking a 110-year-old record, just days after being blanketed with 32 inches of the white stuff. Federal office closings in D.C. will cost an estimated $100 million a day; while the Senate will reopen Thursday, there won't be votes this week, and the House will stay closed. Reagan National and Dulles International airports were shut down Wednesday. Many flights in and out of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston were canceled. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said taxpayers would pay $1 million for every inch that fell there. But Wall Street soldiered on, as did Broadway—Hair offered $40 tickets to students. Travel was especially dangerous, with some areas seeing whiteout conditions. Thousands were left without power, but a few people could savor the day: New York City students enjoyed what was only the third snow day in eight years.