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Some D.C. residents skied down the steps of the Capitol and others organized a citywide snowball fight in a part of the city named Dupont Circle. However, all managed catch cabin fever after four consecutive days off due to two historic snowstorms.

Washington, D.C., was covered in with a thick white blanket as two snow storms hit the city between Feb. 6 and Feb. 11 producing record breaking accumulations.

According to the Washington Post, the region collected more than 55 inches of snow. Amounts increased up to 72 inches at the Dulles International Airport. Winds reached 40 m.p.h. and over 100,000 residents were left without power.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management updated their website nightly before deciding whether the government would stay open in the morning. The government did close for four consecutive days, costing $100 million per day.

On Friday, Feb. 5, the federal
government closed at noon to allow employees time for a safe commute back home. The employee exodus continued toward grocery stores in search of food and snacks. Others looked for snow shovels at major hardware stores like Lowe's and Home Depot.

Early the next morning, the storm was advancing as almost two feet of snow had fallen by 10 a.m. The Dupont Circle snowball fight took place this day and reached a crowd of 3,000 people. Even D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty visited the site.

The snow storm continued the entire day and streets began to disappear, along with the cars parked along the street. The weight of the snow even brought trees down.

The following week brought government closures and blizzard conditions. Schools and universities were closed for several days, and people were forced to stay indoors.

On Monday, Feb. 8, the city became a ghost town as stores and offices closed and public transportation systems stopped running or had limited service. Those off work stayed home and stayed inside all day. Circumstances did not change on Tuesday.

Feb. 10 brought high winds and paralyzed the city more as visibility was became a major problem. Gusts were making it difficult for those outside shoveling snow. Thursday the streets had accumulated almost three feet of snow needed to be plowed.

The city started to get back to normal on Friday, Feb. 12 as the government offices were open, with a two hour delay and unscheduled leave. During the weekend, people were able to walk outside because streets were cleaner and easier to walk on but ice continued to grow on the sidewalks. The cabin feverwas fading as locals could go outdoors and not be forced to stay inside a four- wall room.

Locals termed the doubled- waved storm Snowpocalypse and Snowmaggedon, since the end of the world seemed apparent as the layers of snow kept piling up.