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[h=4]Light snow causes D.C. traffic nightmare ahead of 'crippling' storm[/h]The area is expected to receive 1-2 feet of snow in major winter storm over the weekend.
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More than 150 traffic accidents in Virginia have been reported as snow blankets the D.C. region. Local residents are preparing for even more snow to fall. VPC
Drivers were stuck on Interstate 66 in Virginia after about an inch of snow fell Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016.(Photo: WUSA-TV, Washington)
WASHINGTON<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— Two days before a major winter storm is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>scheduled to hit the Mid-Atlantic, the Washington area was slowed by about an<span style="color: Red;">*</span>inch of snow Wednesday night.
The snow fell on already frozen ground which created a sheet of ice, causing nightmare traffic conditions across the Washington metropolitan area. Countless drivers were stuck behind the wheel for hours.
The "crippling" storm that is expected to hit the region Friday and Saturday is forecast to drop 1-2 feet<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of snow from the Appalachians<span style="color: Red;">*</span>across the Mid-Atlantic and toward New York, with a huge impact on businesses, homes and travel, the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>National Weather Service<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said Wednesday.
A blizzard watch is in effect<span style="color: Red;">*</span>for the Washington, D.C., and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Baltimore region for Friday and Saturday.
USA TODAY
East braces for wallop from powerful snowstorm
Forecasts called for about an inch of snow to fall on the Washington metropolitan area on Wednesday. However, many drivers found roads that were not treated.
On Thursday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser apologized for the city's response.
"We don't believe we prepared adequately for the forecast we got," said Bowser during a news conference. "We should have been out earlier with more resources. We have been focused on the blizzard."
Last night the District failed to deploy the necessary resources in response to the snow - for that I am sorry.
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) January 21, 2016
Bowser said the city is in a snow emergency for the upcoming storm.
She said that Wednesday, crews went out about 4 p.m.
"Our speculation is if we got out a little bit earlier, we may have seen a difference," she said. But she conceded, it might not have made a difference.
Also Thursday, Virginia Gov. issued a state of emergency for the weekend storm<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and said people should "take the threat of this storm seriously." He warned of travel disruptions and power outages.
On Twitter on Wednesday, numerous people said their commutes were longer than expected.
Lorena Blas, a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>USA TODAY entertainment editor, tweeted that it took her more than eight hours to get home.
The president's motorcade also was affected by the snow. The White House pool report said on the trip from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to the White House, "the vans slipped and skidded on the icy roads, making contact several times with the curb."
Quentin Norman, a manager at a gas station and convenience store in Capitol Heights, Md., just outside Washington, said his commute home Wednesday took an hour instead of the usual 15 minutes. The traffic and storm "kind of took us by surprise," he said.
"Everybody was talking about the weekend," he said, and assumed Wednesday's weather would just breeze through.
More than 150 traffic accidents were reported throughout Virginia. A Virginia State trooper was struck by a van when the trooper was outside of his vehicle after responding to a two-vehicle crash. He was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Most of the crashes only involved damage to vehicles, however there was one fatality.
Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY; The Associated Press.
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