Winter Storm Jonas in the Mid-Atlantic: Baltimore to Ban Travel; 2 Dead in Virginia, Maryland

Sean Breslin
Published: January 23,2016

Winter Storm Jonas continues to slam the mid-Atlantic, where several states seen a combination of feet of snow, damaging winds and coastal flooding. At least two people have died in this storm in the mid-Atlantic, and both Washington D.C. and Baltimore remain under blizzard warnings. Baltimore plans to ban all unauthorized vehicles from city streets until Sunday morning.
The region can expect the following from Jonas:

• 1 to 2 feet of snow across much of West Virginia and Virginia, except along the coast, now through Saturday.
• Upwards of 2 feet of snow in Washington D.C. and western Maryland. Smaller accumulations in eastern Maryland, though much of the state is expected to receive at least a foot of snow.
• Wind gusts over 40 mph possible through Saturday, leading to dangerous or impossible travel conditions.

(MORE: Travel Forecast)

Expected Snowfall for the Mid-Atlantic

States of emergency have been declared for West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia, and a snow emergency is in place for Washington D.C. These declarations free up state resources to appropriately respond to the impacts of the storm.
Here's how Jonas is impacting each state in the mid-Atlantic region.

Maryland

Baltimore plans to implement Phase 3 of the city's snow emergency plan, which bans all traffic except for emergency vehicles from city streets, at 6:30 p.m Saturday. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the ban would last until 6 a.m. Sunday.

Hospitals should keep all staff in place for the duration of Phase III/will last at least until 6am Sun 2/24. Only emerg. vehicles on roads.

— Mayor Rawlings-Blake (@MayorSRB) January 23, 2016

Officials said a man shoveling snow died of an apparent heart attack in Fort Washington Saturday morning. Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department spokesperson Mark Brady told the AP they were unable to revive the 50-year-old man.
More than 30 inches of snow have fallen in Maryland during Jonas, and the weight of that wintry precipitation is beginning to weigh on roofs.
A roof collapse was reported late Saturday morning at a Gaithersburg condominium, leaving 225 residents without power. No injuries have been reported in the roof collapse, according to Fox 5 D.C.
In Montgomery County, a barn containing 35 horses partially collapsed shortly after 4 p.m., WJLA reports. A tractor and plow immediately began creating an access path to facilitate the rescue and removal of the animals, two of which needed medical attention.
Heavy surf and storm surge led to flooding and damage along the coast on Saturday.

...and the fishing pier in Ocean City Maryland just about gone: pic.twitter.com/269RZoNsbX

— John Walk (@JWalkLNP) January 23, 2016

More than 10,000 Maryland customers lost electricity at the height of the outages Saturday morning, according to the Maryland Emergency Management Agency.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter had his plane rerouted to Tampa, Florida, on Saturday during a return flight from a five-day trip to Europe, the AP reported. Carter will stay there until weather conditions improve and he is able to fly to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Statewide snow emergency plans were announced Friday afternoon, which require vehicles traveling on all highways designated as snow emergency routes be equipped with chains, snow tires or all season radials.
“Please avoid traveling during the storm to allow our crews the space needed to plow the roads,” said State Highway Administration official Gregory Johnson said. “Our goal is to keep one travel lane open and passable on major highways for emergency vehicles during the storm and focus on plowing all lanes once the snow stops.”

Washington D.C.

Snow totals have exceeded 18 inches in the Nation's Capital, shutting down the district as snow continued to fall Saturday. Snow piled so high inArlington National Cemetary that names on the gravestones were covered. 

Headstones are nearly covered by snow at Arlington National Cemetery, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016 in Arlington, Va. A blizzard with hurricane-force winds brought much of the East Coast to a standstill Saturday, dumping as much as 3 feet of snow, stranding tens of thousands of travelers and shutting down the nation's capital and its largest city.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Mayor Muriel Bowser advised people to stay off the roads as snowfall totals climbed. 

"Unless you're a first responder, you don't need to be on our roads," she said in a press conference, as reported by WUSA.

Travel in the region has been crippled by the massive storm. Some 500 flights out of Baltimore/Washington International, Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport were cancelled on Saturday, according to FlightAware. Runways at both airports are expected to remain closed Sunday, WJLA reports. 

United Airlines suspended all flights from Dulles International Airport and other D.C. area airports starting Friday evening.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority suspended Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess service during the blizzard, according to a news release. At 11 p.m. Friday, the train system was shut down and will remain closed through Sunday. Bus service was shut down at 5 p.m. Friday and the MetroAccess transit service for customers with disabilities was suspended Friday after 6 p.m.

“This is not a storm that anyone should take lightly," said Metro general manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld. “The actions we are taking ... are all in the interest of our customers’ and employees’ safety, and will help us return to service once the storm passes and the snow is cleared.”

(MORE: 12 Things You Should Have Before a Big Snowstorm Hits)
Sunday's professional hockey game between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins is postponed, as is Saturday night's NBA game between the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz.
If you'd like to track snow plows across the district during the storm, here's a website that will allow you to do that.

West Virginia

The National Guard was called to respond to a report of some 200 vehicles stuck on Interstate 77 in Charleston, according to WSAZ.com. Those vehicles became stranded at about 3 a.m. Saturday morning, and rescue crews were called more than six hours later.

Crews reopened the roadway at around noon Saturday afternoon, according to the Associated Press. Plows were able to clear the roadway, and wreckers pulled stranded vehicles out of the snow, the report added.
West Virginia had the highest snow total from Jonas as of Saturday afternoon – 40 inches, in Glengary.
More than 80 emergency calls were reported in Kanawha County, where the state capital of Charleston is located, on Friday, the county's Emergency Operations Center told WCHS.

Virginia

At least 30 inches of snow have been reported in the Commonwealth, and the whiteout conditions had deadly effects on state roads.
The Virginia State Police reported one weather-related traffic fatality Friday afternoon in the city of Chesapeake as a result of Winter Storm Jonas. Chesapeake Police Department officer Leo Kosinski told Richmond.com that the man died when his car went off the snowy George Washington Highway and hit a tree.
Overall, Virginia State Police said it responded to more than 1,000 crashes and nearly 900 more disabled vehicles on Friday alone.
Along the coast, some of the storm's strongest winds were reported in Virginia. At Assateague Island, a wind gust of 85 mph was reported early Saturday morning.
(MORE: Significant Coastal Flooding Reported in Delaware, New Jersey)
The strong winds led to some tree and power line damage. On Saturday morning, at least 4,000 customers were without power in Virginia.

The roof and some walls of a historic theater in Mathews County collapsed Friday night, WTKR reported. Donk’s Theater has been operating since 1947 as a cinema and now calls itself the home of “Virginia’s Lil’ Ol Opry.” According to Mathews County building official Jamie Wilks, the cause of the collapse was snow and ice accumulation, along with the age of the building.
The snow also forced the Virginia General Assembly to close for just the second time in 48 years due to winter weather, according to the Washington Post.
A men's college basketball game between the University of Virginia and Syracuse University has been moved from Saturday to Sunday.
The Virginia Department of Transportation has a website that allows you to track the state's snow plows in real-time; click here to see that map.