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National Park System Units Closing Down In Advance Of Winter Storm

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Published Date

January 22, 2016

This shot taken Thursday afternoon shows the massive storm bearing down on the Northeast/NASA

National Park System units from Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky to the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C., were shutting down Friday in advance of a massive snowstorm predicted to dump upwards of 2 feet of snow on some parts of the East.

All sites within the National Mall and Memorial Parks were scheduled to close at noon local time Friday and remain closed at least through Sunday. During the closure, sites will not be staffed by park rangers (though United States Park Police will be on duty as normal), and restrooms and other facilities will be inaccessible.

National Park Service maintenance crews planned to work around the clock throughout the storm to clear roads, parking lots, walkways around the memorials, and sidewalks. A decision about resuming operations will be made prior to Monday, taking into consideration the current conditions and guidance from the Office of Personnel Management.

Affected sites include:

* Constitution Gardens

* East Potomac Park

* Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

* Korean War Veterans Memorial

* Lincoln Memorial

* Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

* Thomas Jefferson Memorial

* Vietnam Veterans Memorial

* Washington Monument

* West Potomac Park

* World War II Memorial

In Kentucky, Mammoth Cave was closed Friday and scheduled to remain closed through Saturday due to the approaching storm. The park was in the middle of a winter storm warning area and was expected to receive significant accumulation of ice and snow on top of existing snowfall. Strong winds accompanhying the storm might topple weakened trees and limbs, a park release said.

"Mammoth Cave helps us learn to respect the work of nature," said Superintendent Sarah Craighead. "So does a winter storm. We don't like to have to close the park, but the safety of our visitors and our employees is always our first concern whenever we have bad weather."

Mammoth Cave staff tentatively planned to reopen the park for limited visitor services on Sunday, although this will be weather-dependent. Persons interested in visiting the park were being urged to call the park information line at (270)758-2180 before traveling, or check the park website for updates. 

While Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee was open Friday, the Cades Cove Loop Road was temporarily closed Friday morning due to toppled trees. At Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, park operations were being suspended during the duration of the storm, and no search and rescue teams would be available, the park website said.

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Comments

Submitted by Anonymous on January 22, 2016 - 10:36am.

"At Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, park operations were being suspended during the duration of the storm, and no search and rescue teams would be available, the park website said."

Oh, please. Either close the park or open it. Quit bluffing when you know full well that "search and rescue teams" will be available when called.


Submitted by Lee Dalton on January 22, 2016 - 12:15pm.

Chickens.  They need to come out west and see what REAL snow looks like!

(On the other hand, I really don't want to go to the east or midwest to find out what a tornado or hurricane looks like.

I guess that means I'm a chicken, too.)

But this sure sounds like a great opportunity to build a big fire in the fireplace, brew up a huge crockpot of delicious chili and settle in with a good book.

And yes, I bet the search and rescue teams will be ready to go.  Brave people willing to endure miserable work and take risks to drag out those who are too dumb to take precautions.


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