Cars look like igloos: Winter storm traps Dulles travelers in unplowed parking lots
There is one thing nearly as bad as forgetting where you parked your car at the airport, and that’s finding your car buried at the airport after a snowstorm.
That’s what happened to many people from around the D.C. area at Dulles International Airport on Monday.
WTOP spoke to some travelers as they struggled to release their cars from the frozen tundra and several inches of snow that was the blue and green economy parking lots. Many resorted to using makeshift tools and waited for plows and tow crews as they worked to free vehicles after the winter storm.
Simmy and Leza were on the bus from the airport to the blue economy parking lot. As they viewed the roads to the lots during the ride, Simmy said he didn’t think it looked too bad and it wouldn’t take him long to get home to Baltimore.
That was before he saw that his white Acura looked like an igloo in a completely unplowed parking area.
“We’re just going to have to figure out how to shovel all of this away without an actual shovel,” he said.
Simmy, who just arrived back from Russia, luckily had gloves and an ice scraper handy.
Two rows over from the couple was Tunde, who just arrived from Istanbul, Turkey, and had spent the last half hour trying to free his black Acura from the ice and snow so he could get home to Frederick, Maryland.
“I used my hands and feet to kick,” Tunde said. “I had to tuck my hands into my jacket … to get the job done.”
Tunde used his floor mats for traction and the top of a trash can as a makeshift snow shovel.
It didn’t take long for Simmy to grab the same trash can lid to get the snow out from under his car.
“He’s trying at least,” Leza said while standing behind the car and watching Simmy work. “He’s trying his best.”
Over in the green economy parking lot was Loreal Blue, who was not as patient.
Blue, who had just gotten back from the Bahamas with a friend, assumed the parking lot wouldn’t be as snowed in as it was.
Blue had borrowed a Chevy Trax crossover from her friend’s mom for the trip. Now it was covered under several inches of snow.
“I didn’t think the parking lot would be this bad,” she said as she looked around the several inches of snow covering the lot. “I knew at the end of it all, they are still going to want their $15 a day,” Blue said with a laugh.
It didn’t take long for Blue and her friend to realize they needed assistance, so she called the help number listed on the bus shelters.
Shortly after, a tow truck helped the two get out of the snow.
Plows and trucks treating the parking lot with salt continued clearing and treating the area.
Emmett with Top Dog Services pulled up in a truck with a snowplow attached. He told WTOP that around 100 of his coworkers have been working non-stop at Dulles since Friday.
“We make it easy for people to come when they get back from their vacation,” Emmett said. “But, we’re not making it easy for them to get their cars out.”
He pointed out that snow plow drivers “don’t have a choice” whether or not to wait and clear the parking lots because the roads have to be cleared first.