Has Winter Storm Jonas Ended?

Over the weekend, Winter Storm Jonas buried much of the East Coast under record-breaking accumulations of snow — more than 30 inches in some places. Along with the snow came ice, wind, and coastal flooding. The good news for much of the Eastern Seaboard is that the snowfall from Winter Storm Jonas was over as of early Sunday morning, but the bad news is that the danger and damage from the severe winter conditions still remains.

According to The Weather Channel, at least 14 states received more than a foot of snow from Jonas, with much of it falling between Friday and Saturday. As of early Sunday morning, an area of West Virginia reported the most snow: a whopping 40 inches. Parts of the New York City and Washington, D.C., areas received more than 30 inches, shattering records up and down the coast. Even southern states, like Georgia and the Carolinas, saw snow as part of the historic storm system. In addition to snow, wind gusts have reached as high as 85 miles per hour in coastal areas, like Assateague Island, Maryland. Fortunately, Jonas was expected to move off into the Atlantic Ocean before sunrise on Sunday morning, giving the skies a chance to clear and the sun a chance to come out to melt the snow.

Just because the snow has stopped falling, though, doesn't mean the affected areas are in the clear. Coastal flooding remains a concern for areas from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to southern New England. The storm brought higher tides than even those of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 to places along the Atlantic. Additionally, temperatures will need to increase in order for the snow to actually begin to melt and recede. Temperatures are expected to climb a few degrees as the sun comes back out after a gray weekend, but melting in low-lying coastal areas could impact flooding. Although the snow had stopped, the high tides were expected to return on Sunday.

All in all, the storm caused thousands of evacuations, thousands of flight cancellations, and hundreds of thousands of power outages. In fact, hundreds of Monday flights remained cancelled as of Sunday. Dangerous road conditions also caused accidents, killing several people in states like Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Although weather conditions are expected to improve throughout the day on Sunday, it's safe to say that the cleanup from Jonas could be a slow, messy process, reminiscent of the rough winter that the Boston area experienced in 2014 and 2015, when snow piles and debris remained at least until July.