Capitol Hill Staffers Flee Snowstorm

Congressional aides fled Capitol Hill Friday as the second major snow storm in less than two months arrived in Washington and the rest of the Mid-Atlantic.

With 28 inches of heavy, wet snow forecast in Washington, Baltimore and the surrounding areas, the federal government told workers they could leave four hours early.  Apparently most of them left at 12 p.m.

The Office of Personnel Management sent a notice to staffers, which was obtained by Fox News, saying employees should be "dismissed by their agencies 4 hours earlier than their normal departure time from work."

"OPM is continuing to closely monitor developing weather conditions should there be a need to reassess the government's operating status," the notice read.

The record for snowfall in the nation's capital is 28 inches, set in January 1922.

Fox News' Trish Turner contributed to this report.