by Henry Wong
More than a week has passed since the massive winter storm Jonas hit the East Coast and New Yorkers can still see giant mounds of snow in every direction. According to the National Weather Service, the storm, which hit hardest between January 22-23, affected a total of 26 states and roughly 102.8 million people; 1.2 million were lucky enough to get over 30 inches. The storm was the second largest in Central Park in the past 147 years, dropping 26.8 inches of snow, just missing a tie for the record by a tenth of an inch compared to a storm 10 years ago on February 11-12, 2006 which dropped a whopping 26.9 inches. Glengary, West Virginia, nearly disappeared under 42 inches of snow, or roughly three and a half feet.
Although many made light of the situation, winter storm Jonas caused over 50 deaths and made getting anywhere nearly impossible. Over 10,000 flights were cancelled and public transportation was shut down in Washington D.C., New Jersey, and New York in addition to travel bans placed in some cities bringing them to a standstill. It is estimated that the storm had an economic impact of over $850 million which includes the loss of profits by retailers and businesses.
