On Sunday morning, travel bans were slowly lifted and much of the US East Coast started digging out of a record snowstorm that paralyzed much of the region this past weekend. With 26.8 inches, New York City logged the highest snowfall since record-keeping began in 1869. Many other parts of New York and Long Island saw up to two feet of snow. The states of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania saw snow totals over 30 inches.Public transportation in Baltimore and New York started up Sunday morning, but Washington D.C.’s metro transit system was scheduled to remain shut until Monday morning. D.C.’s city schools and government will be closed on Monday. Washington D.C.’s suburban Dulles airport recorded 29.3 inches of snow.
At least 28 deaths have been blamed due to the severe weather and airlines canceled more than 12,000 flights across the weekend. On Sunday, airlines canceled another 800 Monday flights. New York City canceled all Saturday night Broadway performances, but Broadway was back in business Sunday. More than 50,000 people along the East Coast remained without power on Sunday. This is a significant improvement from the 250,000 utility customers that were affected during the height of the storm. South Carolina and New Jersey continued to have the largest power outage problems on Sunday.
The financial impact of the storm will be in the millions of dollars according to experts. Damage to homes, vehicles, businesses, etc. will likely result in a multi-billion dollar economic cost.
During the course of this week, FreshPlaza will provide updates on the effects of the snowstorm on the fresh produce industry.