It doesn’t look like the weather is getting better for Washington, Philadelphia and New York. The federal government is preparing for the worst, and they’ve closed schools and canceled hearings–including the Toyota recall hearing. Report says the government plans to remain closed until Wednesday.

DC has been closed since Friday afternoon, when the storm brought some 3 feet of snow.

Alex Krause, 23 years old from Los Angeles was stranded in Washington. He said, “It’s embarrassing that the world’s largest superpower closes from a few feet of snow. The Kremlin must be laughing.”

But it’s no laughing matter. A day’s shutdown of agencies costs the government about $100 million in lost productivity and related costs.

Linda Springer, a former director of the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the federal work force of nearly 2 million people, said, “Anything that is critical is going to get done.”

(image & story from LA Times)