The federal government in Washington, D.C. is closing at noon Friday to make sure hundreds of thousands of employees get home before an historic blizzard crashes into the area in late afternoon.
The Office of Personnel Management said in a warning:
Federal agencies in the Washington, DC area are OPEN and employees have the OPTION for UNSCHEDULED LEAVE OR UNSCHEDULED TELEWORK. Employees, who report to their worksite, should depart 4 hours earlier than their normal departure time, but NO LATER THAN 12:00 PM, at which time FEDERAL OFFICES in the Washington, DC area are CLOSED.
Uncle Sam joins hundreds of area governments, school districts and private businesses in deciding to close early to make sure people are off the roads before the storm hits.
The National Weather Service has placed a blizzard warning over the area. Wind gusts could reach 60 mph. Washington could see 12-20 inches of snow, and nearly counties up to 20 inches. Baltimore and Philadelphia are also expected to get hit.
From the NWS:
IMPACTS: HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL CAUSE DANGEROUS CONDITIONS AND WILL BE A THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY. TRAVEL IS EXPECTED TO BE SEVERELY LIMITED IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. VISIBILITY WILL BE REDUCED TO NEAR ZERO AT TIMES IN WHITEOUT CONDITIONS.
WINDS: NORTH 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH.
TEMPERATURES: IN THE MID 20S.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
