The snow has stopped falling, but the aftermath of the snowstorm that blanketed the District with 16.4 inches of snow over the weekend is quite extensive.
The University is back open Tuesday after closing Monday in the wake of the storm. The school kept residence halls open past its planned closure Sunday at noon after 1,000 students were stranded by the weather. The halls closed at 5 p.m. on Monday, but GW Housing Programs Director Seth Weinshel said the University would accommodate any student who could not find travel plans home.
Off campus, one of the biggest stories of the weekend was one concerning a Metropolitan Police Department officer who pulled his gun out after his Hummer was hit with snowballs, according to several news reports. Revelers had gathered at 14th and U streets for a massive snowball fight, evident in a video posted on YouTube that also shows the officer holding a handgun. The officer then engages in what appears to be a contentious argument about the snowball throwing, while the crowd chants “you don’t bring guns to a snowball fight.”
MPD Chief Cathy Lanier said in a e-mailed statement, “Let me be very clear in stating that I believe the actions of the officer were totally inappropriate! In no way, should he have handled the situation in this manner. We have taken swift action by placing him on non-contact status until all the facts are gathered and discipline is handed down.”
The Associated Press is reporting that the collapse of an unoccupied three-story townhouse in Georgetown may have been due to the weight of the snow. Renovations on the house may have also been a factor.
Airport operations should begin to return to normal after a weekend of massive delays and cancellations, but some other travel news arose this weekend – according to the New York Times, new federal government guidelines will fine airlines that “do not provide food and water after two hours or a chance to disembark after three hours,” $27,500 per passenger. According to the article, the Transportation Department reported that for 2007 and 2008 there were an “average of 1,500 flights a year, with 114,000 passengers, held on the tarmac for more than three hours.”
And delays weren’t just at the runways. According to the Times, the storm stranded drivers on Interstate 81 in Lexington, Va., about 200 miles southwest of D.C., for hours. The National Guard was called in to assist the motorists with food, water and gas.
