Graziella5b

We are used to hurricanes here in Florida,so we know how hard things might be,, ....right now we are terribly concerned with all the
serious problems and danger facing the East Coast.We pray for all and hope things are not as bad as TV commentators report them.

We've have tickets for Thursday morning flying into DC but I guess it will be madness to fly on that day....? To start with , thousands of flights have been cancelled so I do not think things would
be normalized by Thursday morning....have no clue what airlines do or will do.
any comments?
How are things in DC right now?

nytraveler

I think the chance of your getting on the flight is not great.

You need to:

1) Watch the news to see what the conditions are in DC

2) Find out if your flight will go (many hundreds of planes are in the wrong places and will likely not all have been repositioned by then)

Not sure of DC but the NYC subway system now has water in many stations and while they were hoping to have the system up and running Tues PM - it now looks like part of the system may be up by Wed and some stations may be much longer until they can be pumped out.

Obviously DC is not directly on the ocean - so the Metro should be OK - but not sure about surrounding areas - especially in terms of power. (There are now more than 2 million people without power in the NYC metro)

nytraveler

Sorry that is 2 million households.

Dukey1

There are a lot fewer people without power in the very immediate DC area than I would have expected but the worst is not over.

I suspect National will be very much back up and running by Thursday but whether or not things in town will be such as museums and so forth you aren't going to know anything until later on Tuesday.

This is NOT New York which is going to get a much harsher treatment than the DC area so I wouldn't rule anything out yet.

tomfuller

I think it would be madness. I'm guessing you will get a phone call from your airline about rescheduling.
If I "HAD" to get to Washington from Florida, I'd consider taking the Amtrak Autotrain to Lorton VA and drive from there.
If it is only a tourist type trip, wait for a couple weeks if you can.

obxgirl

Government, schools, etc etc is cancelled through Tuesday so I'd wait until tomorrow afternoon to at least see what the state of affairs will look like. I'd be mentally prepared to cancel though.

You'll want to see your airline is going to do if you haven't you heard from them. We are scheduled to fly into Richmond tomorrow evening and as of Saturday Delta was giving us the option to cancel with no penalty or change routes.

Do NOT consider Amtrak who is more likely to be disrupted due to flooding than the DC airports.

NewbE

I think that you should go if your flight goes and they keep you booked on it. Friends in DC are saying that conditions aren't all that bad there. No, it's not over, but I agree that DC won't get hit like other cities farther north. And there are so many attractions there, it's unlikely you'll have trouble finding enough things open.

Now, what the airlines decides to do with you, who can say?? Good luck!

longhorn55

If you can get on your flight on Thursday morning, I would come. I don't think things are as bad here as the TV reporters make it sound. I fully expected to lose power today, but it was only off for a couple of minutes in the afternoon. We still have rain and wind, but both are lessening and should continue to lessen throughout Tuesday.

I think things will be up and running in D.C. again on Wednesday.

Graziella5b

Thank you all. I have mixed feelings , I am kind of optimist and fantasize that everything will be ok by Thursday.
Can anyone tell me is the Metro is running now. THat would be an indication .
We really do not have to go for anything important is only a small holiday, I even bought tickets for War Horse on Sunday, and changing dates will be a complication in our schedule. So I guess I will follow advise to wait till Tuesday night and then take a decision.
I guess the magnitude of such a storm humble us we can plan and plan but God has the last word. Thank you again.

NewbE

This article from The Washington Post confirms that DC escaped the brunt of the storm, and also say Metro is restoring partial service this afternoon and full service by Wednesday morning. I think that if your flights are OK, your trip will be unaffected.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...y.html?hpid=z3

Dukey1

Spoke with my house sitter in North Arlington this morning. We have lots of trees in the neighborhood and almost inevitably lose power but did not this time around. There are some streets in the District closed due to fallen trees.

I suspect the Government will be open tomorrow and things will be back up by Thursday. As I said, this is NOT New York.

nytraveler

Agree - DC is inland - not right on the ocean like NYC - so not nearly as many problems.

But do keep track of your flight - since the NY airports being closed will make a mess of the system.

longhorn55

As I expected, things are generally fine in the D.C. area now. Metro has re-opened as of 2pm and will be on a Sunday schedule today with a regular schedule expected for Wednesday.

Currently we have no wind and very light rain--more like a mist.

Come to D.C. tomorrow if you can.

longhorn55

Whoops, I meant to say, "Come to D.C. on Thursday if you can". (Why isn't there an edit button!)

Dukey1

Fed will be open tomorrow

basingstoke2

If your flight is not cancelled and since you have tickets you might as well be on it. Everyone showed up for work today on time. The weather is cool and overcast but OK. I believe the museums will be open since the rest of the fed is. Things are being cleaned up quite well as of today.

basingstoke2

BTW, if you are not flying Southwest Airlines and your flight does go without you on it, it will cost.