Dozens Gather For Snowball Fight On National Mall In Washington DC

Opposing armies of snowball fighters pummeled each other on Washington D.C.'s National Mall on Monday (January 03) after a storm unleashed heavy snow on the nation's capital.

In a nod to the coronavirus Omicron variant, the event was dubbed the 'Battle of Snomicron' by the Washington DC Snowball Fight Association, a Facebook group that organizes regular snowball fights.

Vanessa Starks, a doctor, said that she would treat the injured if forced to, but they were taking part at their own risk.

Each side took turns charging in an epic melee with the Smithsonian Castle as a backdrop.

Matt Pellerito, a chef, came with his six-year-old son Lucas.

Pellerito said he had heard about the snowball fights before, but this was his first time as a belligerent.

Lucas was cautious for much of the battle, dodging and snatching snowballs, but he picked one up and hurled it at the other side as the fight wore on.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old friends Bailey Chasser and Melissa Rindfleisch said that the snowball fight was a perfect hangover cure on a lazy day off from their marketing jobs.

On Monday, a winter storm unleashed snowfall and strong winds throughout much of the U.S. Southeast and mid-Atlantic, forcing federal offices and schools to close, grounding airplanes, and knocking out power for thousands of people.

According to the National Weather Service, forecasts called for 4-8 inches of snow and winds up to 40 miles per hour in the region's first blizzard of the season. Severe weather warnings were issued from the Carolinas to New Jersey.

The inclement weather forced federal government offices to close in Washington, while dozens of schools across the region canceled or delayed the start of school.