Mother Nature didn’t give Arlington a white Christmas so she decided to make up for it with a white Valentine’s Day.
More than 3 inches of snow fell upon Arlington last week, causing school closures, driving delays and innumerable headaches. Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine (D) declared a state of emergency Tuesday to prepare for a storm which, at its peak, cut off power to around 120,000 people in the Washington area. While only 237 Arlington homes lost power during the storm, public schools were closed on Wednesday and delayed their openings on Thursday and Friday.
For Arlington residents and workers, life continued despite the deluge.
"I'm just tired of winter," said David Thurman, a lifelong Arlington resident. James Ford, who was waiting for a bus at Ballston Station, said that he is trying to avoid the harsh weather at all costs. His friend, Paul Brown, just shrugged off the cold. "I had to work so it doesn't make a difference to me," he said.
Some Arlingtonians changed their daily routines to avoid driving in the dangerous conditions. "I don't like driving in sleet and snow," Nicky Roberts said, "so I'm letting the bus drivers do it instead." Others were more defiant. "I have the same routine as every [other] day," Quita Williams said. "The weather's not going to slow me down."
But one person saw bigger factors behind the region's severe weather. "It's all caused by global warming," Matula Shakur said. "All these tornadoes, typhoons, hurricanes and tsunamis are caused by man."