Heavy Snow Strikes Nation's Capital Washington Extends Drought With a Trace on Monday

Video from the BBC is here.

Washington is not the only world capital which finds it difficult to cope with snow and ice. Heavy snow virtually paralyzed some areas of Britain on Monday, with as much as 8" in parts of London. The UK Guardian reports:

The heaviest snowfall for 18 years paralysed swaths of the country yesterday, bringing chaos to roads, railways and airports, closing thousands of schools and businesses, and costing the economy an estimated £1.2bn in lost working hours.

Although the snow had been forecast since last week, much of Britain was overwhelmed, with conditions forcing one in five workers to stay at home, as many as 3,000 schools closed and many non-urgent hospital operations were postponed.

The south-east bore the brunt of the snow, which settled to a depth of 25cm (10in) in Kent and Surrey, and saw all flights cancelled at Heathrow and London City airports, leaving thousands stranded.

London's public transport system buckled under the stress, with all but a handful of bus routes cancelled yesterday morning and 10 of the 11 underground lines either completely or partly suspended.

The cold weather hype machine is loving it. This just in, however, the seasons haven't been repealed: "Despite global warming, snow still exists".

The UK Met Office's latest forecast calls for the snow to be moving northward on Tuesday.

As of midnight, the National Weather Service reports the following snow totals in the Washington, DC region:

********************STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL********************

LOCATION          STORM TOTAL    TIME/DATE    COMMENTS
                     SNOWFALL       OF
                     (INCHES)   MEASUREMENT


MARYLAND

...FREDERICK COUNTY...
   SMITHSBURG             2.0   725 PM   2/2  
   FOXVILLE               1.0  1155 PM   2/2  
   MYERSVILLE             0.4   805 PM   2/2   1265FT

...MONTGOMERY COUNTY...
   DAMASCUS               0.8   955 PM   2/2   COOP OBSERVER

...WASHINGTON COUNTY...
   HAGERSTOWN             1.5   848 PM   2/2  
   HAGERSTOWN             1.0   820 PM   2/2  
   KNOXVILLE              1.0   755 PM   2/2  

VIRGINIA

...AUGUSTA COUNTY...
   CHURCHVILLE            2.0   830 PM   2/2   ALL SURFACES
   SWOOPE                 1.0   825 PM   2/2   GRASSY ONLY

...CITY OF HARRISONBURG...
   HARRISONBURG           1.5   725 PM   2/2  

...CITY OF STAUNTON...
   STAUNTON               1.2   638 PM   2/2  

...CITY OF WAYNESBORO...
   WAYNESBORO             2.8  1000 PM   2/2   2 WEST

...CITY OF WINCHESTER...
   WINCHESTER             1.0   845 PM   2/2  
   WINCHESTER             0.3   724 PM   2/2  

...CLARKE COUNTY...
   BOYCE                  1.8   835 PM   2/2   ALL SURFACES
   BERRYVILLE             1.0   920 PM   2/2  

...FAIRFAX COUNTY...
   HERNDON                0.1   849 PM   2/2  

...FAUQUIER COUNTY...
   OPAL                   2.0   919 PM   2/2  

...FREDERICK COUNTY...
   GORE                   2.0   848 PM   2/2  

...HIGHLAND COUNTY...
   MONTEREY               5.5   900 PM   2/2   ALL SURFACES

...LOUDOUN COUNTY...
   LEESBURG               0.5   824 PM   2/2  

...MADISON COUNTY...
   HAYWOOD                0.5   739 PM   2/2  

...PAGE COUNTY...
   STANLEY                2.5  1028 PM   2/2  
   LURAY                  1.8  1025 PM   2/2  
   LURAY                  1.0   715 PM   2/2   5MI W
   LURAY                  0.5   849 PM   2/2  
   SHENANDOAH             0.3   722 PM   2/2  

...PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY...
   HAYMARKET              1.8  1001 PM   2/2   ELEV. 1200FT

...ROCKINGHAM COUNTY...
   MASSANUTTEN RESORT     4.0  1128 PM   2/2  

...SHENANDOAH COUNTY...
   NEW MARKET             1.5   845 PM   2/2   ALL SURFACES
   STRASBURG              0.8   845 PM   2/2   ALL SURFACES