Via Twitter

Via Twitter

“It’s Sunday, and the sun is out!” said Mayor Muriel Bowser at a press conference this morning. “We’re very happy to report that.”

And so the dig out begins.

D.C. is in its “response phase” to the 17.8 (or so) inches that Snowzilla dumped on the District. The city has received more than 400 pieces of equipment, including plows and dump trucks, to aid in the effort—tripling the city’s snow removal resources. “This is day one of our efforts to dig out of two feet of snow,” the mayor said.

Bowser announced that public schools will be closed on Monday, and said that the administration is still assessing their ability to reopen the government.

Metro is expected to give an update on efforts to restore the system this afternoon. But WMATA announced that they have extended free parking for residents who left their vehicles in Metro garages through Tuesday morning.

Operations at Dulles and DCA remain suspended today, but snow removal teams are working on blasting the runways clear.

“We’re still operating under an emergency in the District,” Bowser said this morning, reminding residents to abide by snow emergency parking rules. The city will be going after vehicles that are stuck on the roads or blocking the way. “For anybody who impedes out ability to get plows down the street, we will aggressively ticket you and tow your vehicle,” she said. Those fines could add up to as $750.

And Chief Cathy Lanier has reminded residents that no matter how hard it was to shovel your car out, they still can’t save that parking spot.

“We ask people to be as considerate as possible of their neighbors. No one owns their parking space” on public streets, she said yesterday.

Filed Under: bowser, jonas, snow, snow emergency, snow totals, Snowzilla,