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Mid-Atlantic bases brace for more snow

The Air Force braced for another dose of winter weather at its mid-Atlantic bases Tuesday, expecting another 10 to 17 inches of snow on top of the two feet dumped on the region over the weekend.

In Washington, the Pentagon, along with the rest of the federal government, stayed closed for the second straight day. Airmen assigned to Headquarters Air Force Staff, along with Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Secretary Michael Donley, work out of the Defense Department building.

The snow over the weekend shut down most non-emergency operations at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., said Eric Sharmen, a spokesman for the 316th Wing at Andrews. As of Monday afternoon, there was no official word when the base would re-open.

Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., also remained closed to non-emergency operations. Repeated calls to Bolling’s public affairs office were not answered, and it was unclear when it will re-open.

Late last week, operations officers at Dover Air Force Base, Del., scrambled to find missions for its C-5s and C-17s to protect them from the blizzard conditions. The last plane lifted off Friday afternoon and didn’t return until Monday, said 1st Lt. Brian Maguire, a Dover spokesman.

On Sunday, airmen dug out the flight line covered in 2 feet of snow with drifts piled up by wind gusts that reached 45 knots, Maguire said.

In West Virginia, the 167th Airlift Wing at Martinsburg canceled weekend training set for Feb. 6 and 7 and hopes to make up the lost days this weekend. Guard members on duty helped local emergency agencies by dispatching the wing’s four-wheel drive Humvees to reach people stranded in their homes by 20-plus inches of snow.

Other bases in the Mid-Atlantic region on the fringes of the snow storm reported few disruptions. On Monday, flight operations were back to normal at Langley Air Force Base, Va., and McGuire Air Force Base, N.J.