Capitol buckles down as massive snowstorm moves into town

The Capitol and the Capitol Visitor Center will be closed on Saturday, officials announced Friday afternoon as a massive snowstorm began to pound Washington.

Dozens of bags of ice-melting salt, wheeled salt spreaders, and trash bins filled with snow shovels stood guard with several Capitol Police officers on the West Front of the Capitol on Friday as the first flurries of up to 30 inches of expected snow descended on the steps.

While the Capitol’s restaurant staff and Senate sergeant at arms staff were given the green light to leave early on Friday, Capitol Police and snow removal crews with the Architect of the Capitol’s (AoC) office will remain in full force over the weekend.

Capitol Police officials have begun booking hotel rooms near the Capitol for officers who are scheduled to work on Saturday but who don’t live nearby, according to several officers. They’ve also begun doling out food vouchers to area restaurants for officers staying overnight, said the officers.

“It’s a nice gesture, but a lot of good they’re going to do if every place is closed,” said one officer of the vouchers.

Federal workers in D.C. were allowed to leave at 2 p.m. on Friday and the governors of Maryland and Virginia declared a state of emergency for their respective states.

Some staffers were hunkered down, working into the afternoon hours in their offices on Friday even though several House staffers said they were allowed to leave early to brave the traffic headed out of D.C. One staffer said it took 90 minutes to get to Silver Spring, Md., a trek that usually takes about 30 minutes.

Rep. Aaron Schock's (R-Ill.) office was fully staffed as of 3:30 p.m. on Friday and spokesman Dave Natonski said they all planned to stick around for another couple of hours before leaving for the weekend.

"We're an Illinois office, so we stick it out thick and thin, and this isn't much yet," said Natonski of the snow.

"All of our staff lives in areas that are Metro accessible, too, so we're just sticking it out and doing our job."

Whereas Rep. Steve Buyer's (R-Ind.) office had a paper sign on his Rayburn office door that read: "Due to the Snow Emergency Our Office is Closed."

Despite news of the snowstorm, dozens of tourists still flocked through the Capitol on possibly the last tours of the week as House and Senate officials concurred with the AoC’s Friday afternoon decision to close the Capitol and the CVC on Saturday.

The office of the AoC is planning to maintain a snow removal force over the weekend for the Capitol campus. Workers were already spreading salt on the walkways and the parking areas of the East Front of the Capitol on Friday afternoon.

“We have crews on hand to remove snow from streets, sidewalks and parking lots throughout the weekend,” said Eva Malecki, a spokeswoman for the AoC.

“We'll also continue to perform our routine maintenance throughout the Capitol and office buildings. We are very appreciative of our dedicated staff who tirelessly perform their duties during these extraordinary circumstances.”

One AoC employee said he didn’t mind pulling the extra hours to keep the grounds clear, but he was worried that he wasn’t going to be able to get food easily. The Capitol cafeteria closed early, at noon, on Friday “due to the threat of inclement weather,” and it was unclear whether Capitol Hill restaurants and food delivery services would be functioning in the coming hours.

Jay Heflin contributed to this story

This story was updated at 3:50 p.m.