The blizzard is over, but millions of Americans continue to deal with the aftermath of Winter Storm Jonas.
According to Newsday, at least 31 people died as a result of the storm. Deaths occurred in car accidents, from carbon monoxide poisoning, hypothermia, and from heart attacks while shoveling snow.
The Weather Channel reports that icy conditions over the weekend contributed to at least six deaths in the South and complete gridlock on a major interstate in Kentucky, where motorists were stranded for hours.
According to the report, Christopher Adams, 44, a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet employee, died while plowing highways in Christian County. Adams had called his supervisor around 5:50 a.m. to report that his snow plow had slid into a ditch along KY-115. According to the report, the supervisor arrived on the scene to find Adams slumped over his seat and unresponsive.
Emergency shelters were opened near two exits along I-75 in Kentucky for motorists who were stranded. Jonas dropped 18 inches of snow on portions of the state, according to the Associated Press.
Jonas also dropped 26.8 inches of snow in Central Park, the second-most recorded since 1869, according to The Weather Channel. The storm also dumped nearly three feet of snow onto the nation’s capital. Flurries even reached North Florida, according to the report.
In Washington, the entire metropolitan transit system remained closed through Sunday, and federal government offices in the area were shut down Monday, Reuters reports. Public schools in D.C. and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs were also closed on Monday, Reuters adds.
Newsy reports that Jonas could also be responsible for major financial losses across the Northeaster U.S. A Moody’s economist says the affected area’s average economic output of $16 billion per day is in jeopardy, Newsy says.
The Weather Channel has broken down where Jonas ranks in history among some of the biggest storms on record. It also provides a recap of snow, wind and coastal flooding reports by state.
