Winter Storm Closes Government Early

James Joyner · Thursday, February 24, 2005 · 2 comments

Winter Storm Prompts Area Closings (WaPo)

The federal government said today it would dismiss employees two hours early as a lackluster but nonetheless stubborn mixture of snow and sleet continued across the Washington region. The snowfall — which the National Weather Service says could total four to seven inches by midnight tonight — could complicate the home-bound commute as dropping road temperatures and continuing precipitation make highways more slippery than they were for the trip in this morning.

All major Washington area school systems declared themselves closed this morning after the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning lasting until 1 a.m. Friday.

The federal government, which had warned earlier that it would consider early dismissal, acted at about 1:15 p.m. Early dismissal means employees can leave two hours earlier than they normally leave. Traditionally, that has led to an early and unpredictable start to the region’s rush hour and occasionally a chain reaction, in which other employees leave early in order to beat the early-departing federal workforce.

Since I work for the federal government as a contractor, and my agency is closing early, I’m headed out, too. The Traffic Jam is partly composed and will likely appear on schedule.