From January 22 to 24, 2016, a deadly, historic and crippling blizzard, unofficially referred to as Winter Storm Jonas by the Weather Channel and other media, or more commonly the Blizzard of 2016 and Snowzilla, produced up to of snow in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. A weather system, evolving from a shortwave trough that formed in the Pacific Northwest on January 19, consolidated into a defined low-pressure area on January 21 over Texas. Meteorologists indicated that a resultant storm could produce more than of snow across a wide swath of the Mid-Atlantic region and could "paralyze the eastern third of the nation", and regarded it as a "potentially historic blizzard". Winter weather expert Paul Kocin described the blizzard as "kind of a top-10 snowstorm".
On January 20–22, the governors of eleven states and the mayor of Washington, D.C., declared a state of emergency in anticipation of significant snowfall and blizzard conditions. Approximately 103 million people were affected by the storm, with 33 million people placed under blizzard warnings. More than 13,000 flights were cancelled in relation to the storm, with effects rippling internationally. Thousands of National Guardsmen were placed on standby, and states deployed millions of gallons of brine and thousands of tons of road salt to lessen the storm's effect on roadways. A travel ban was instituted for New York City and Newark, New Jersey, for January 23–24.
Seven states observed snowfall in excess of , with accumulations peaking at in Glengary, West Virginia. Ice- and snow-covered roads led to hundreds of incidents across the affected region, several of which resulted in deaths and injuries. At least 55 people were killed in storm-related incidents: twelve in Virginia; nine in Pennsylvania; six each in New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina; four in South Carolina; three each in Maryland and Washington, D.C.; and one each in Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Ohio. Total economic losses are estimated to be up to $3 billion. The storm ranked as a Category 5 "extreme" event for the Northeast on the Regional Snowfall Index, and a Category 4 event for the Southeast. It was the first winter storm to rank as a Category 5 winter storm since the 2011 Groundhog Day blizzard, and was the last to be rated as such until 2026.
Meteorological history
The development of the winter storm was anticipated by forecasters for at least a week. It originated in a shortwave trough—a weather disturbance in the upper atmosphere—that came ashore at the Pacific Northwest on January 19. The trough strengthened as it moved southeastward through the Great Plains, and on January 21 it spawned a weak low-pressure area over central Texas. The incipient storm system began to intensify as it tracked eastward through the Gulf Coast states, triggering a line of strong to severe thunderstorms and multiple tornado warnings.
During the mid-afternoon hours of January 22, a new low-pressure area began to develop over the coast of the Carolinas, as the former storm tracked into central Georgia. Owing to uncertainty in short-range guidance but a high confidence of a sharp northern edge of precipitation, many forecasts were predicting of snow or less until just hours before snowfall began, from Allentown, Pennsylvania, toward New York City and the southern coast of New England. As the storm moved further north and rapidly strengthened, it became apparent that snowfall would be much higher farther north, and forecasters quickly began upgrading their totals. Early on January 24, as the storm was leaving New England, the system began to become elongated, as a secondary low developed to the southwest of the storm's central low. On January 25, the blizzard left the East Coast of the United States; on the same day, the system was named Karin by the University of Berlin.
Accompanied by a strong jet stream in the Atlantic, the remnants of the storm crossed the British Isles on January 26. The wind and rain associated with the low was forecast to have the potential to cause disruption in the United Kingdom, and indeed there were areas that saw severe weather. During the next few days, the system accelerated towards the northeast. On January 29, the storm system was absorbed by Windstorm Leone, over Finland.
Preparations
Multiple offices of the National Weather Service issued various watches and warnings across the storm's projected path. Blizzard warnings covered coastal Connecticut; most of Delaware; most of Maryland; Massachusetts, particularly Martha's Vineyard; most of New Jersey; New York, including New York City; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island, especially Block Island; Virginia; and Washington, D.C. Winter storm warnings were issued from Arkansas to Massachusetts, including parts of Connecticut, northern Georgia, extreme southern Illinois, extreme southern Indiana, the entirety of Kentucky, extreme northeastern Louisiana, southeastern Massachusetts, northeastern Mississippi, extreme southeastern Missouri, extreme southern New York, most of North Carolina, southern Ohio, southern Rhode Island, northern South Carolina, most of Tennessee, most of Virginia, and all of West Virginia. Freezing rain advisories covered parts of North and South Carolina. Further winter weather advisories covered additional portions of the country, including eastern Kansas, southeastern Missouri, and northern Alabama. Offshore, storm warnings covered areas from Georgia to Maine.
On January 21–22, the governors of Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and the mayor of Washington, D.C., declared a state of emergency in anticipation of significant snowfall and blizzard conditions.
Airlines cancelled more than 1,000 flights, with hundreds more preemptively grounded, by the afternoon of January 21 for January 22–24. Ripple effect cancellations spread across the entire East Coast. By the afternoon of January 23, more than 10,100 flights were cancelled across the country, affecting well over 100,000 travelers. Nearly 2,000 more flights were delayed. Most airports in the Mid-Atlantic region suspended service altogether, with Baltimore–Washington International, Philadelphia International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National, and Washington Dulles International closed through the evening of January 24. Flights to and from LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International, and Newark Liberty International were largely cancelled as well. American Airlines suspended all flights departing from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, causing a ripple of flights being cancelled throughout the country. Effects rippled internationally, with more than 100 flights in Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom cancelled. Altogether, 13,046 flights were cancelled between January 22 and 26. Amtrak suspended service for many lines, including the service from New York City to New Orleans; the to Chicago; and the to Miami.
Multiple sporting events, including those held by the Atlantic Coast Conference, National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League, were postponed by the storm, while the National Football League's Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers NFC Championship went on as planned for January 24 in Charlotte.
Mid-Atlantic
A snow emergency was declared for Washington, D.C., meaning that residents would not be allowed to park on snow emergency routes after 9:30 p.m. local time on January 22. Mayor Bowser urged people to remain home during the storm, "[u]nless you absolutely have to be out tomorrow afternoon [January 22], residents should get home as soon as possible". Across Maryland, 2,700 pieces of snow equipment were mobilized and crews planned to distribute 365,000 tons of road salt. In Virginia, 500 vehicles were deployed to treat roads and 500 members of the Virginia National Guard were placed on standby. Schools across the D.C. area were scheduled to end classes early on January 22, before the storm's arrival. Stores across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., reported a substantial uptick in sales, with groceries, heaters, shovels, and similar items sold out in numerous locations. West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin mobilized the state's National Guard on January 21.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced on January 21 that it would shut down its entire mass transit system over the weekend of January 22 and 23, including the Washington Metro and Metrobus, making it the longest such shutdown in the agency's history. On January 25, the WMATA operated limited Metro bus service, as well as rail service only on the underground portions of the Red, Green, and Orange Lines; however, fares were not charged. In Richmond, Virginia, all flights out of Richmond International Airport on January 23 were cancelled, and the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GTRC) bus system took the rare step of suspending all routes on January 24.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had 2,200 vehicles and more than 733,000 tons of road salt on standby for use. Trucks deployed brine across major roads in and around Philadelphia, though residents were advised to avoid travel unless necessary. A travel ban was declared for Lancaster, Lebanon, Newberry Township, and York on January 23. SEPTA issued a near complete shutdown of its services, shutting down all bus services and closing all rail except for the Broad Street Line and Market–Frankford Line subways.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio declared a hazardous travel advisory for the city, encouraging people not to travel; however, he did not ban traveling. On January 22, he declared a "winter weather emergency" and told residents to "Get done what you have to get done today ... Do not bring your vehicle out tomorrow". Taking place a year after a storm prompted the closure of the city's subway system in January 2015, only to largely bypass the city, Governor Andrew Cuomo stated that services would remain running. Approximately 1,800 workers equipped with 800 heaters were to keep rails clear for use. Thousands of sanitation workers, 1,700 plows, and 150,000 tons of road salt were on standby to clear city roads. He also put 600 members of the New York National Guard on standby. More than 50 power workers from Vermont were dispatched to Long Island to help restore power outages. Around noon on January 23, owing to a significant increase in expected snowfall, Cuomo issued a travel ban for all roads in New York City and Long Island. The New York City Transit Authority suspended bus service; rail service on the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North, and Staten Island Railway; and elevated subway service (with underground subway lines remaining open until further notice). In the meantime, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey closed bridges and tunnels in the region. The New Jersey Transit was also shut down in preparation of the blizzard.NJ Transit shutting down service at 2 a.m. Saturday due to the blizzard, NJ.com, January 23, 2016
A travel ban was instituted for Newark, New Jersey, on January 23 through the afternoon of January 24 in light of hundreds of snow-related accidents.
Strong winds coupled with prolonged onshore flow resulted in a major coastal flood threat for Delaware and New Jersey. Near-shore waves were forecast to reach with a storm surge of . In New Jersey, a mandatory evacuation was ordered for residents in coastal Barnegat Township in anticipation of significant coastal flooding; several other towns were placed under voluntary evacuation orders.