The Capitol in Washington, Thursday morning, January 21, 2016, after less than an inch of overnight snow created hazardous road conditions and major traffic delays. (AP Photo)
A light dusting of snow that stuck drivers in icy gridlock for hours in and around Washington served an ominous prelude to the massive blizzard bearing down Thursday on the nation's capital and threatening the eastern United States.
Less than an inch (2.5 centimeters)of snow fell Wednesday night in the capital area, but that was enough for roads to immediately freeze over. Efforts to lay salt ahead of the storm proved ineffective, and most major school districts in the region either closed Thursday or opened late.
"We are very sorry for (our) inadequate response," Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said. "We should have been out earlier, with more resources."
For people already scrambling to prepare for up to 2 feet (0.6 meters) of heavy wet snow, the trouble caused by a mere dusting provided more reason to worry about what the National Weather Service is calling a "potentially crippling winter storm" expected to blanket the Mid-Atlantic region starting Friday afternoon and continuing through Sunday.
Smaller amounts of snow are expected for New York, Boston and other northern cities, but forecasters warned of high winds, power outages and coastal flooding up and down the east coast.
Bowser announced that schools will close pre-emptively on Friday, and the city government will close at noon, hours ahead of the heavy snow according to Thursday's forecasts. The federal government has yet to announce a decision on office closures.
A blizzard watch was issued starting Friday in the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan areas, and the heaviest amounts, up to 2 feet (0.6 meters), are forecast for areas west and southwest of the capital.
All major airlines have issued waivers for travel over the weekend, allowing passengers to rebook onto earlier or later flights to avoid the storms. The airports included vary by airline but include some cities in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia all the way up the coast to New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
One major event in Washington was still on: the March for Life, an annual anti-abortion rally that's usually one of the largest events in the capital. It will be held Friday, the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v Wade decision legalizing abortion.