In DC, it was known as the "Blizzard of '96" or the "Great Furlough Storm," because it occurred just after the 1996 federal government shutdown and since the Federal government was closed due to the storm, lengthened the time federal employees were away from their jobs in the DC area. Because of unseasonably warm weather in mid-January and a warm rain exceeding on Monday, January 15, the snow melted quickly and caused the worst winter flooding in decades for river and stream valleys from Southwest Virginia to New York.