A winter storm packing heavy snow blew into Washington DC on Monday, closing government offices and schools and grounding the president’s helicopter. As much as 10in of snow was forecast for the District of Columbia, northern Virginia and central Maryland through the afternoon, writes The Guardian.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the area until 4pm ET. Wind gusts of up to 35mph were forecast and travel was expected to be very difficult because of the hazardous conditions, the weather service said.

The snow grounded Joe Biden’s helicopter so he drove to the White House from Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Maryland after a weekend in Delaware. With snow blanketing the streets, the White House press briefing was canceled, although Biden’s other public events were still on.