Washington EarthCam Is Doubling as a DC Blizzard Livestream and It's Scary Looking

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Impact

There's no official blizzard livestream for Winter Storm Jonas (though there's likely a Periscope out there somewhere) but webcams set up on top of the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol are essentially providing the same thing — and it's daunting out there. 

January's winter storm, the first of 2016 and following an unusually warm December, hit Washington, D.C., in the form of a blizzard with 35 mph or higher winds and minimal visibility Friday. It's predicted to dump several feet of snow and cause potentially life-threatening conditions through Saturday. The Washington Monument live cam, located 500 feet above ground in the monument's pyramidion, was completely covered in snow by Friday afternoon. 

The real-time cam is running live on EarthCam. Here's the view from the monument's peak before it was completely covered in snow:

Here's a comparison of the views from the Capitol before and after the blizzard hit:

And here's another livestream of the view:

A blizzard warning went into effect for Washington, D.C., at 3 p.m. Eastern Friday, the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang reported. Jonas is expected to dump snow on D.C. for a whopping 36 hours through Saturday night, according to the Post, at two to three inches per hour during the storm's peak Friday night into early Saturday morning. Whiteout conditions are expected as wind gusts hit 40 mph during the brunt of the storm. 

The D.C. Metro will close at 11 p.m. Friday and is scheduled to reopen Sunday, D.C. Metro CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld said at a press conference Thursday. "This is not a storm that anyone should take lightly, and I would urge all residents to plan to get to a safe place before the storm arrives Friday afternoon," Wiedefeld said. "The actions we are taking today are all in the interest of our customers' and employees' safety, and will help us return to service once the storm passes and the snow is cleared."

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