WASHINGTON - A snowstorm dubbed "Snowmageddon" -- not just major, but historically major -- was pounding the U.S. capital on Friday, threatening to dump 65 centimetres or more on a region that rarely gets more than a few dustings a year.
The storm was in contention to break a record for the D.C. region, set in 1922 when a blizzard blew in from the Atlantic and crippled the city with a whopping 71 centimetres of snow. By way of comparison, the storm that paralyzed D.C. in December -- nicknamed "Snowpocalypse" by the Washington Post -- was measly, leaving just 40 centimetres in its wake.
Hundreds of accidents occurred on Virginia and Maryland highways as night fell and temperatures plunged, resulting in icy road conditions. One accident claimed two lives, a father and son who were hit by a tractor-trailer in Virginia when they stopped to help a stranded motorist.
By 9 p.m. on Friday, the snow was outpacing efforts to remove it from roads, with as much as seven centimetres an hour expected to fall overnight.
But before a single flake had fallen from the sky, schools in the city and its surrounding suburbs announced they were closing early, the mayor of D.C. declared a snow emergency, airlines cancelled flights, airports prepared to shut down and citizens raced to grocery and hardware stores to stock up on supplies.
"We are going to be right up against the most snow this city has ever seen," Mayor Adrian Fenty said.
Rush hour set in hours earlier than usual as the snow began to fall at about 1 p.m. The city's famous Beltway freeway and other roadways leading out of town were jammed with vehicles as people left work early.
By nightfall, the fluffy flakes that swirled gently from the sky and quickly melted at the storm's outset was morphing into a hard-driving blizzard.
"We're just preparing, basically, for a three- or four-day sit-in," said Nancy Mills, 47, as she walked her dog in Silver Spring, Md., under menacingly leaden skies.
"Nothing moves when it snows here at all, never mind when there's that much. We just don't have the snow removal equipment to deal with it, so we don't expect to be going anywhere for a few days."
Manuel Torres, 29, was at a nearby Sears shopping for new snow boots for his three children.
"Usually, you don't need them very often -- maybe just once a year. But this year, my kids have needed them almost every day for weeks."
A traditional D.C. winter doesn't normally result in anything more than a couple of light snowfalls a year, amounting to rarely more than a sprinkling by Canadian standards. Consequently, the city and its suburbs in Virginia and Maryland don't allocate large portions of funds to snow removal, which means a major snowstorm can shut down residential communities for days.
Friday's storm would mark only the third time in almost 60 years that the area has suffered through two snowfalls in excess of 10 inches -- or 25 centimetres -- in one season.
The warnings were ominous.
"An epic snowstorm has the mid-Atlantic region in its crosshairs," Jane Lubchenco of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Distraction (NOAA) said in a statement.
"At this time, personal safety must be first and foremost. National Weather Service forecasters have been tracking this storm for the past week and now that the storm is here, it must be taken very seriously."
Echoed Chris Strong, of the Virginia office of the NOAA: "Tonight into Saturday morning will be about as dangerous as winter weather can get around here."
The city's transportation department urged motorists to stay off the streets so that work crews could clear roadways. Hundreds of city workers, including contracted employees, began 12-hour shifts on Friday morning, pre-treating roads using about 270 salt trucks.
D.C.'s public transit system cancelled all above-ground services, including buses and subway lines, on Friday night and for most of the weekend. Hundreds of flights in and out of area airports were cancelled.
And yet for all the doom and gloom, there was still a sense of child-like wonder about the prospect of mounds of white stuff falling upon the city.
With the help of Twitter and Facebook, snowball fights were being organized around D.C., including on the National Mall and in the city's Dupont Circle neighbourhood.
Organizers were quick to emphasize the gun-free nature of the fights, however, following an incident after the December snowstorm that resulted in a D.C. police officer pulling a gun on a group having a snowball fight around the popular U Street corridor, the hip locale for many Washington restaurants and clubs.
By mid-afternoon on Friday, as many as 2,000 people had joined the Facebook page promoting the Dupont Circle event. One would-be combatant had a compelling question, however.
"So million-dollar question: How in the world are the non-Duponters making it there if the over-the-ground Metro isn't going to be working?" Sheethal Bhandari wanted to know.
Came the reply on the Facebook wall: "In a sleigh pulled by reindeer!"
In Canada, a winter storm was wreaking similar havoc in Newfoundland.
Heavy snow fell on eastern Newfoundland, closing schools, government offices and businesses, and turning one normally busy St. John's street into a racetrack for two snowmobilers. About 20 centimetres whipped by gusts up to 90 kilometres an hour fell throughout the day and another 25 were forcecast overnight and into Saturday.
