There is an unexpected obstacle to funding the government this week: Snow

Tuesday is the first day of spring, but you wouldn't know it in the Washington, D.C. region, where residents are awaiting what could be "one of the biggest snowfalls in almost two years," WTOP-FM writes. The winter weather will do more than just dampen moods, though — it could potentially bog down lawmakers' efforts to pass a spending bill and result in the government shutting down, Politico Playbook writes.

Congress is once again facing a looming Friday night deadline to complete its $1.2 trillion spending bill, which would keep the government open through the end of September. There continues to be heated debate over funding President Trump's border wall and as of Tuesday morning, the legislation has still not been released. When it is, it will need to clear both the House and Senate.

That's where the snowstorm comes into play. "So many aides come in from the suburbs that if the region gets between 3 and 6 inches, a snow day is completely plausible," writes Politico Playbook. "Of course, Congress could pass a short-term spending bill to push the funding deadline to sometime next week, but at this point, they don’t seem interested in doing that."

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At the time of publication, the National Weather Service has a winter storm warning in effect through Wednesday evening. Snow is expected to begin Tuesday afternoon, and continue overnight.