Tihana and Jarrett Blanc had given up on digging, instead taking their dog, Hector, for a walk through northwest Washington.
“Our car is stuck. We’re not even trying,’’ said Tihana, 36.
The storm toppled trees and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands in Washington, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. In West Virginia, some 400 National Guard troops were helping with snow removal.
Though the focal point remained the nation’s capital, people from Pittsburgh, across Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, New Jersey, and West Virginia were dealing with snow measured in feet instead of inches. Philadelphia, the nation’s sixth-largest city, was virtually shut down, with nearly 27 inches of snow recorded.
Walt Gursky, 28, braved the roads to go to the Philadelphia International Auto Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center downtown. “Last year when I came, there was a line getting in,’’ Gursky said in the normally mobbed facility. “Much more relaxing in here - you can actually see what you want.’’
Hundreds of car wrecks were reported, though only two people had died - a father and son who died while helping another motorist in Virginia. By yesterday, most people couldn’t drive anywhere because their cars and roads were buried.
In Ellicott City, Md., Christine Benkoski said she was trying to dig out from at least 2 feet. As she tried to clear her driveway, she said she uncovered how the storm had transitioned from snow, to ice, then back to snow.
“I feel like an archeologist,’’ Benkoski said.
“I’ve been out here for an hour, and my only goal is to get to the street.’’
And President Obama, a snow veteran from his days in Chicago, didn’t have a smooth day. He walked out of the White House midmorning to find the South Lawn, his backyard, looking like untouched wilderness. Instead of the manicured lawns and clipped hedges, snow had piled on every shrub and the backyard was almost colorless.
