DC mayor: Snowstorm has ‘life and death implications’

by Jesse Byrnes - 01/22/16 12:04 PM ET

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is urging residents to stay home during the weekend blizzard, expected to dump up to two feet of snow starting Friday afternoon.

“We see this as a major storm. It has life and death implications and all the residents of the District of Columbia should treat it that way,” Bowser said during a press conference Friday morning.

{mosads}”We need the city’s full cooperation,” she continued. “We want people to hunker down, shelter in place and stay off the roads.”

Officials have been bracing for a potentially historic storm expected to dump around two feet of snow through Sunday, with wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

The federal government is closing its offices at noon on Friday. The Metro transit system will be suspending train service Friday night at 11 p.m. through Sunday, and bus service after 5 p.m. on Friday.

Bowser for a second day expressed disappointment over the city’s handling of a minor snowstorm Wednesday evening that snarled traffic and caused delays lasting several hours for some commuters.

“I don’t think that our team performed at a level that I expected or the people expected,” the mayor said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” insisting that officials have been preparing all week for the weekend blizzard.

Officials in D.C., Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland have declared states of emergency ahead of the storm.

Tags DC Muriel Bowser Snow shutdowns