While the calendar may say it is spring, another winter storm threatened the East Coast on Wednesday, prompting the federal government to close down offices in the Washington, D.C. area, and canceling public events for President Donald Trump at the White House.
While there was little snow on the ground as the sun came up on Wednesday, forecasters were warning of big snow totals from the nation's capital, up the I-95 corridor through Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
But as the morning commute continued, there was little evidence in some spots of that storm.
"Total accumulation so far 1” of Salt," tweeted Rep. Billy Long (R-MO), as he documented empty streets on his commute to the U.S. Capitol, as lawmakers from the heartland subtly mocked the snow scare.
The biggest snowfall totals seemed to be to north of the Washington area, up near the Mason-Dixon line along the Maryland and Pennsylvania border, where as much as two feet of snow could fall.
But federal officials did not take any chances, as they closed government offices on Wednesday.
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Despite the weather threat, Congress was in session today, though some committees had scrapped hearings set for Wednesday morning, worried about the snow.
Both the House and Senate were still going to be in session, as lawmakers were trying to finish a giant funding bill, facing a Friday night shutdown deadline.
Even with the winter weather, the Senate Intelligence Committee was forging ahead with a hearing related to Russian interference in the 2016 elections, looking at recommendations for how best to improve security measures for future elections.
At the White House, it was a snow day as well - even without any snow on the ground in the morning - as the President erred on the side of caution, and canceled two events, including a Cabinet meeting.
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
One thing the winter storm could not shut down was the President's Twitter feed, as Mr. Trump was up early this morning, registering his frustration with the Special Counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, and noting his displeasure at the outcome of a case about illegal immigrants in the federal court system.
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