Air Force One was affected by a rare weather-related travel delay Monday when it landed in the middle of a snowstorm outside Washington, but was unable to drop off President Biden due to about three inches of snow covering the ground.
The president, returning from a post-Christmas vacation in Delaware, was forced to sit on the runway for 36 minutes after landing at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
“Due to the snow, deboarding the plane was delayed about a half hour so that the tarmac could be plowed,” wrote Politico reporter Hailey Fuchs, who was aboard the plane, in a pool report.
Snow-related trouble with moving a mobile staircase also delayed Biden’s return to the White House, according to journalists.
“AF1 has arrived back at Andrews, but the stair lifts are struggling to get through the thick snow on the tarmac so the president, staff, and media are stuck on board,” tweeted Bloomberg reporter Justin Sink.
When he finally disembarked, Biden held a hand over his face to deflect the driving snow as he walked down the steps to his motorcade.
Due to poor visibility, Biden could not return to the White House by helicopter and his motorcade took almost twice as long as usual to make the drive. At one point, vehicles in the motorcade appeared to get stuck.
“President Biden has returned to the White House after a slippery motorcade through heavy snow. The ride took more than an hour, at one point coming to a complete stop for several mins on Pennsylvania Ave,” tweeted CBS News Radio reporter Steven Portnoy.
Fuchs wrote in a pool report that a press van within the motorcade “stopped for at least five minutes” during the trip.
It’s unclear why Biden chose to return to DC during the storm rather than on Sunday evening under clear skies, but he often returns to the White House on Monday following long weekends at his Delaware homes.
Fewer than three inches of snow had accumulated when Air Force One landed, according to a chart published by the Washington Post’s weather division.
But as the snow picked up, landings and takeoffs were halted temporarily at nearby Reagan National Airport, scrambling hundreds of flight schedules.
More than half of all flights at Reagan National, Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport were canceled or delayed on Monday.
Although the snowfall would be easily dealt with in New York or New England, a dusting regularly cripples government operations in DC, where it’s rare to get much wintry weather.
The storm is projected to drop up to 10 inches of snow in DC.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki canceled her scheduled afternoon press briefing Monday due to the storm following the announced closure of federal offices and many local schools.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a snow emergency Sunday night to remain in effect until 7 p.m. Monday.
Many COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites also shut down because of the storm.
The US Office of Personnel Management announced that federal government offices would be shuttered but that emergency employees and those who can work from home are expected to keep working.
The National Weather Service issued a warning that between 4 and 8 inches of snow was possible in a region stretching from the southern Appalachians through the nation’s capital and into southern New Jersey, with some areas likely seeing 8 to 12 inches.
“The heaviest snow (2 inches/hour) along with thunder-snow is likely to occur right after the transition from rain this morning, which will make for tricky commutes to work. Heavy wet snow will also accumulate on power lines leading to power outages,” the National Weather Service said in a statement, adding that travel conditions could be hazardous.
“The timing of this isn’t great,” National Weather Service meteorologist David Roth told the Associated Press. “For the D.C. area, it’s morning rush hour. At least for places to the northeast, it’ll be closer to midday.”
With Post wires
