Intrepid Voice of America journalists braved strong winds and blowing snow to photograph the early hours of a massive storm that threatens to dump near-record amounts of snow on Washington
January 2016 Snowstorm in Washington: Day 1
![Washington's Chinatown, normally bustling on a Friday night, was nearly deserted. (P. Datcher/VOA)](https://gdb.voanews.com/d105e1b6-78e6-4a83-b827-0d1280db8416_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Washington's Chinatown, normally bustling on a Friday night, was nearly deserted. (P. Datcher/VOA)
![Workers at the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery worked to keep the building's steps clear of snow (P. Datcher/VOA)](https://gdb.voanews.com/cf50cc94-af65-409d-a9f5-fa9936294e9e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Workers at the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery worked to keep the building's steps clear of snow (P. Datcher/VOA)
![A truck plows a sidewalk in southeast Washington (S. Hossain/VOA)](https://gdb.voanews.com/d8028cd2-cc0e-4478-bb47-de6de4420635_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A truck plows a sidewalk in southeast Washington (S. Hossain/VOA)