Obama Returns from Copenhagen to DC Blizzard

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(CNN) -- Record amounts of snowfall were reported Saturday afternoon at Washington, D.C.-area airports as a major snowstorm slammed the East Coast -- and snow is still falling.
Accumulation at Washington Dulles Airport reached 13 inches, breaking the old record of 10.6 inches set December, 12, 1964. At Reagan National 13.3 inches of snow were reported. The old record there was 11.5 inches set December 17, 1932.
The storm is blanketing the mid-Atlantic region and the heavily populated I-95 corridor, and 10 to 20 inches of snow were predicted for swaths of the region. See current flight delay information on the FAA Web site
In Virginia, one person died late Friday and two others died Saturday in a pounding storm, Virginia's emergency management department said. More heavy snow was expected in the state.
The foul weather prompted an emergency declaration in the nation's capital, stranded hundreds of motorists, brought havoc at airports, caused power outages, and threatened to keep hordes of Christmas shoppers indoors.
All runways at Reagan National airport were closed until 6 a.m. Sunday, and the Metrorail train line to the airport was shut down because of the snow, the metropolitan airports authority said on its Web site. The terminal remained open.
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for the D.C. area, but reduced that to a winter storm warning until 6 a.m. Sunday. Forecasters said wind gusts up to 40 mph were "expected to create whiteout conditions later this afternoon."
The storm stretched from Tennessee and North Carolina to the southern New England states, nearly shutting down Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York.
Other areas braving and expecting heavy snow included Baltimore, Maryland, where a blizzard warning has been declared; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York; Richmond, Virginia; and regions from Tennessee and North Carolina to the southern New England states.
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Video: Sledders hit the streets Video: Snowy Saturday in Virginia Video: Time to go to work Video: Snowstorm blasts the East Video: Snowy Saturday
Gallery: Wintry weather hits East Coast


http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/12/19/winter.weather/