The New Year has kicked off with what looks to be one of the largest snowstorms in the mid-Atlantic since 2019. The country's capital and surrounding areas were blanketed by record-breaking snow Monday as a large storm system slowly worked its way east.
More than a foot of snow fell across Washington, DC, Maryland, and Delaware, forcing some offices and schools to close down temporarily. Museums, zoos, and other public facilities were also closed down due to the storm. Early reports revealed that at least two children had been killed after trees fell due to the heavy snowfall.
On Monday night, three people were also reportedly killed in a vehicular accident involving an SUV and a snowplow in Washington, DC. Montgomery County police said they are still investigating the incident.
State police recorded 160 vehicular accidents, and 245 motorist calls for assistance in the Northeastern area. Due to flooding issues, U.S. Route 40 was temporarily closed. Winds gusting to over 30 mph drove waters 2-3 feet above average tide levels in coastal New Jersey, culminating in a flooding high tide in Sea Isle City.
Washington received about 8.5 inches of snow on one day, making it the biggest one-day snow total since January 2016 and surpassing the one-day total from January 2019. Around 11.5 inches of snow fell in Capitol Heights, Maryland, while 6.7 inches fell at the Baltimore Washington International Airport.
In New Jersey, a state of emergency has been declared in five southern counties. Governor Phil Murphy said the storm is one of the largest ever to hit the region in over four years. Snow and severe thunderstorms were also reported in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and even as far south as the Florida Panhandle.
Hundreds of thousands of people lost power amid the storm. Virginia had the highest disruptions by Monday night, with 311,000 people still without power. According to PowerOutage.us, which collects data from utilities across the United States, tens of thousands more people were without power in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Air travelers were plagued by the cold weather and inconveniences caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. On Sunday, more than 2,700 flights across the country were canceled. According to FlightAware, more than 2,800 flights inside, into, or out of the U.S. had been canceled.
There was a ground halt at Reagan National Airport until 5 p.m., but the ground stop was lifted shortly after. Early Monday afternoon, a ground halt at the Baltimore Washington International Airport was lifted.
The weather remained reasonably quiet in the Midwest, but temperatures have been very cold, with some portions of Minnesota and the Dakotas not experiencing temperatures over zero since Friday.
