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Winter Storm Jonas Detailed Updates | The Weather Channel
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Winter Storm Jonas Detailed Updates

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Below is a look back at Winter Storm Jonas as it unfolded Jan. 22 into early Jan 24, 2016.

For a complete listing of final snowfall totals from the storm, click here to see our full article.

Early Jan. 24 Updates

2:23 a.m. EST: The storm total snowfall at Philadelphia International Airport is reported as 22.4 inches.

2:14 a.m. EST: Snowfall totals through 1 a.m. at New York City have increased to 27.9 inches at LaGaurdia Airport; 26.8 inches at Central Park. The next official observations will be released shortly after 7 a.m.

1:52 a.m. EST: Based on National Weather Service climate report data, JFK Airport in NYC has now reached 30.5 inches for storm total snowfall from Jonas. New York becomes the fifth state to record 30 inches or more of snow from Winter Storm Jonas.

Jan. 23 Updates

11:59 p.m. EST Saturday: The top snowfall total in New Jersey has nudged up to 29.6 inches at Whitehouse, in Readington Township in the northern part of the state. With light snow still falling across the area, the final top snowfall total for the state could exceed 30 inches.

11:37 p.m. EST: Most of the warnings and advisories have been dropped to the northwest of I-95 from Richmond to New York City, as the axis of snow shifts east. Periods of snow will likely continue near the immediate shoreline into early Sunday morning, especially over Cape Cod and the Islands, where snow could linger into the predawn hours.

10:36 p.m. EST: Lingering snow across the I-95 corridor in southern New England has bumped up the top snowfall totals to 16 inches at Greenwich, Connecticut; 15.5 inches at Westerly, Rhode Island; 14.5 inches at West Harwich, Massachusetts.

10:10 p.m. EST: Flakes are still flying in New Jersey, where the top snowfall total in the state is now Madison with 29 inches.

8:55 p.m. EST: The official snowfall report from Baltimore-Washington International Airport is 29.2 inches, setting an all-time record for a single snowstorm at that location. Winter Storm Jonas is the first storm on record to bring more than two feet of snow to both Baltimore and New York City.

8:18 p.m. EST: Delaware has a new top snowfall amount of 15.5 inches at Woodside in Kent County.

7:55 p.m. EST: Official snowfall reports from the National Weather Service through 7 p.m. include 28.3 inches at Dulles International Airport; 27.7 inches at JFK Airport in New York City, which is an all-time record snowfall at JFK from a single snowstorm. Other totals in the area are still being reviewed.

7:07 p.m. EST: More than two feet of snow has fallen in Baltimore and New York City. Through 7 p.m., 27 inches of snow was reported at JFK Airport in New York City; 26 inches of snow was reported at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport; 25 inches at LaGuardia Airport in New York City.

6:46 p.m. EST: Heavy snow in New Jersey has pushed the state's top snowfall total to 27 inches so far at Clinton.

6:21 p.m. EST: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has set a new record for its largest snowstorm on record, after receiving 28.6 inches of snow.

6:00 p.m. EST: Snow is quickly piling up across parts of southern New England, where the top snowfall totals have increased to 10 inches in Massachusetts (West Yarmouth); 7.8 inches in Rhode Island (Westerly); 7 inches in Connecticut (Bridgeport).

5:31 p.m. EST: Strong winds continue to impact southeastern Massachusetts, where a wind gust to 70 mph has been reported at Marshfield.

5:04 p.m. EST: Intense snowfall is impacting New York City, as JFK Airport reports 3 inches of snow in the last hour and a total storm snowfall of 24 inches.

4:53 p.m. EST: Unofficial snowfall totals as of 4 p.m. include 26.5 inches at Dulles International Airport; 19.8 inches at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport; 17.7 inches at Philadelphia International Airport; 21.8 inches at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey; and 19.5 inches at Central Park in New York City. The Reagan National Airport total has been retracted by the National Weather Service, due to a possible measurement error.

4:37 p.m. EST: The top snowfall total in Pennsylvania continues to climb, now reaching 35 inches at Somerset, about 25 miles southwest of Altoona.

4:33 p.m. EST: With more than 18 inches of snow at Washington, D.C. and New York City, this appears to be the first snowstorm on record with at least 18 inches of snow at both of those locations, but this has not yet been confirmed by the National Weather Service.

4:21 p.m. EST: A new top snowfall total in Virginia is 39 inches at Philomont, about 25 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.

4:17 p.m. EST: Blizzard criteria have been reached at Nantucket, Massachusetts, where winds have been gusting over 35 mph with 1/4 mile visibility and heavy snow since 12:31 p.m.

4:03 p.m. EST: Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania is reporting 23 inches of snow, now the third largest snowstorm on record for the area, only behind the blizzards of 1983 and 1996. They may surpass both of those events later this evening.

3:41 p.m. EST: Blizzard warnings have been expanded to include Cape Cod in southeastern Massachusetts.

3:28 p.m. EST: New Jersey has a new top snowfall total of 19.6 inches at Roselle in Union County.

3:15 p.m. EST: Heavy snow is now impacting parts of Cape Cod and the Islands, where a snowfall total of 5.0 inches has been reported on Nantucket.

3:11 p.m. EST: The top snowfall total in Pennsylvania is now 32 inches at Cairnbrook, about 25 miles southwest of Altoona.

3:05 p.m. EST: Siasconsett, Massachusetts on Nantucket Island reports a wind gust to 73 mph at 2:47 p.m., following a gust to 69 mph at 2:38 p.m.

2:45 p.m. EST: The first 40 inch snowfall total has been reported in Glengary, West Virginia, located in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia.

2:20 p.m. EST: The roof of an unoccupied Dollar General store has collapsed under the weight of snow in Somerset, Kentucky, according to a report relayed by the National Weather Service.

2:11 p.m. EST: The death toll has risen to eight after a storm-related death was confirmed in Tennessee. The Knox County sheriff's department said a car slid off a roadway, killing the driver and injuring a passenger, according to the Associated Press.

1:57 p.m. EST: LaGuardia Airport in New York City reports 16.2 inches of snowfall through 1 p.m.; that's the new top snowfall total in the entire state of New York for Jonas. All of that snow has fallen since midnight, making today the fourth-snowiest calendar day at LaGuardia since records began in 1945.

1:45 p.m. EST: In Allentown, Pennsylvania, the official snowfall total through 1 p.m. is 21.2 inches; that's the third-highest two-day snowfall and fourth-highest three-day snowfall on record. The standing records are 25.6 inches in two days and 25.9 inches in three days, both from the Blizzard of 1996.

1:44 p.m. EST: Official snowfall totals through 1 p.m. include 23.5 inches at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia; that's the second-highest two-day snowfall and the third-highest three-day snowfall on record there, though records only go back to 1962 at Dulles.

1:25 p.m. EST: Redhouse, Maryland, reports 38 inches of snowfall – the new top snow total from Winter Storm Jonas in any state.

1:12 p.m. EST: According to a tweet posted by the New York Police Department, anyone on the road in New York City after 2:30 p.m. will be arrested. A travel ban goes into effect for New York City beginning at 2:30 p.m.

1:10 p.m. EST: The new top snowfall total in Pennsylvania is 31 inches near Windber in Somerset County.

1:08 p.m. EST: In New York City, the Broadway League has announced that all Broadway matinee and evening performances are canceled for Saturday.

1:05 p.m. EST: Virginia's top snowfall total has increased yet again; it's now 33 inches in Winchester, in the northwest part of the state.

12:51 p.m. EST: The new top snowfall total for the Commonwealth of Virginia is 31 inches near Philomont in Loudoun County, west of Washington D.C. We will receive updated official snowfall totals for the major airport observation sites in the region around 1 p.m., in accordance with standard practice.

12:40 p.m EST: The new top snowfall total for the state of Maryland is 32 inches at Redhouse, in the far western part of the state.

12:15 p.m. EST: The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement for the New York City area for snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour and wind gusts to 50 mph Saturday afternoon.

11:40 a.m. EST: Top storm snowfall total is now 34 inches in Tunnelton, West Virginia, located in the northern part of the state.

11:38 a.m. EST: The National Guard has arrived to help with stranded motorists on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

11:21 a.m. EST: Moderate to heavy snowfall rates continue in the New York City area. Final storm totals of 1 to 2 feet are likely in the Tri-State area. Wind gusts have topped 40 mph at both Central Park and at LaGuardia.

11:02 a.m. EST: The first 30 inch snowfall totals have come in from near Winchester, Virginia, and Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania.

11:00 a.m. EST: Five people have now been confirmed dead due to winter weather associated with Winter Storm Jonas.

10:52 a.m. EST: Up to 24 inches of snow has now fallen southwest of Washington, D.C. in Manassas, Virginia. Below is a before (Friday) and after (Saturday morning) look at Manassas from Weather Underground.

10:41 a.m. EST: Kentucky State Trooper Lloyd Cochran reports that northbound I-75 remains closed from exit 41 to exit 49.  He anticipates it re-opening by 12 p.m. EST

10:00 a.m. EST: New top storm snowfall total is now 28.5 inches in Redhouse, Maryland. New York's LaGuardia airport has now seen a foot of snow, with 2 inches falling in the hour ending 10:00 a.m. EST.

9:20 a.m. EST: Two feet of snow has now been reported in parts of four states including Maryland (Oakland 24 inches), West Virginia (Terra Alta 28 inches), Pennsylvania (Windber 26 inches) and Virginia (Ashland 24 inches).

9:17 a.m. EST: Record flooding has now been observed in at least four locations along the Delaware (Lewes) and New Jersey coasts (Great Channel at Stone Harbor, Cape May Harbor, Delaware Bay at Cape May). Below is a photo of the flooding in Sea Isle, New Jersey.

8:40 a.m. EST: Motorists have been stuck on westbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike since 8 p.m. EST Friday near Bedford due to disabled tractor trailers stuck in snow, according to state police. This photo from a Duquesne University men's basketball tweet shows buses stranded on the road.

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(Duquesne University Men's Basketball Team/Twitter)
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8:36 a.m. EST: Cape May, New Jersey, has also now seen a record high water level at 8.98 feet at 8:30 a.m. EST, beating the old record set during Superstorm Sandy of 8.90 feet.

8:30 a.m. EST: Heavy snow reported at all major airports in the New York City area. Baltimore and parts of the Washington, D.C. area also both reporting moderate to heavy snow. This webcam shows the heavy snow in Manhattan at 8:30 a.m. EST.

8:15 a.m. EST: Water level has risen to 9.27 feet at Lewes, Delaware. This is a new record highest level for that location, beating 9.20 feet on March 6, 1962.

8:10 a.m. EST: New top snowfall total of 28 inches reported in Terra Alta, West Virginia which is near the Maryland border.

7:48 a.m. EST: This before and after image shows Sterling, Virginia, before the snow on Friday compared to Saturday morning.

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(Weather Underground)

7:38 a.m. EST: Water level at Lewes, Delaware, peaked at 9.09 feet, a storm surge of more than 4 feet. This is the second highest level on record at that gauge, beating Superstorm Sandy (8.71 feet) and the Jan. 4, 1992 Nor'easter (8.80 feet). The record highest level remains 9.20 feet on March 6, 1962.

7:18 a.m. EST: Up to 18 inches of snow has measured just north of the D.C. area in Garrett Park, Maryland. Storm snowfall totals of up to 15 inches reported in Philadelphia. New York's LaGuardia airport saw 3 inches of snow in one hour ending 7 a.m. EST. 

6:48 a.m. EST: The water level at Lewes, Delaware, had risen to 8.80 feet, a storm surge of more than four feet. This ties as the second highest water level on record there, surpasssing the level recorded in Superstorm Sanday. Sustained winds had reached 59 mph with a gust to 72 mph.

6:18 a.m. EST: Thundersnow has been reported in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, with a storm total of 16 inches. A total of 13 inches was measured at The White House in Washington, D.C.

6:05 a.m. EST: Both LaGuardia and Kennedy airports in New York City reported 2 inches of new snowfall in just the past hour. The storm total at LaGuardia was 6 inches so far and 5 inches at Kennedy.

5:40 a.m. EST: Strong winds continue to blast the Mid-Atlantic region. The Brandywine Light buoy in lower Delaware Bay has reported sustained winds at or above 50 mph since 4:48 a.m., with a top gust of 66 mph.

5:05 a.m. EST: Assateague Island, Virginia, reports sustained east-northeast winds of 57 mph with gusts to 85 mph as of the 4:40 a.m. observation. Those are the highest winds we've yet seen from Winter Storm Jonas.

4:42 a.m. EST: We're even starting to see strong, potentially damaging wind gusts penetrate inland away from the immediate Atlantic coast; Georgetown, Delaware, just reported a gust to 61 mph at 4:17 a.m. along with light snow.

4:37 a.m. EST: Snowfall rates of 2 inches per hour were reported as of 4 a.m. at both Reagan National and Dulles International airports in the Washington D.C. area, as well as at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

4:31 a.m. EST: Thundersnow (and thundersleet) was reported in the 4:05 a.m. observation at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport just southwest of Baltimore. The airport reported visibility down to 1/8 of a mile.

4:25 a.m. EST: The Weather Channel estimates about 208,000 customers are without power due to the effects of Winter Storm Jonas. The vast majority are in North Carolina, where 151,000 customers lack electricity mainly due to heavy ice buildup from freezing rain Friday. Other states affected by outages include Virginia and South Carolina at 15,000 customers each; New Jersey with 6,000 in the dark; and Delaware and Maryland, each with about 5,000 households or businesses without power.

3:53 a.m. EST: Wallops Island, Virginia, reports sustained east-northeasterly winds of 52 mph with gusts to 69 mph.

3:40 a.m. EST: Assateague Island, on the Atlantic coast of Virginia, reports sustained northeasterly winds of 50 mph with gusts to 74 mph.

2:36 a.m. EST: Lewes, Delaware, reports a sustained east-northeasterly wind of 50 mph with gusts to 64 mph.

1:43 a.m. EST: A wind gust to 75 mph was reported at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia this hour. Sustained winds were as high as 35 mph at 1 a.m.

12:35 a.m. EST: The National Weather Service has expanded winter storm warnings to include much of the Poconos in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Jan. 22 Updates

11:37 p.m. EST Friday: New top snow totals for five states: 18 inches in Philippi, West Virginia; 13.5 inches in Oakland, Maryland; 11 inches at Somerset, Pennsylvania; 10 inches at Franklin Furnace, Ohio; 3.5 inches near Harvest, Alabama.

11:08 p.m. EST: The National Weather Service has expanded blizzard warnings to include the I-95 corridor in Connecticut, including southern portions of Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties.

10:30 p.m. EST: Ice has accumulated to 1 inch near Old Liberty, Virginia. There are numerous reports of downed trees and power lines, causing power outages over parts of the Carolinas and Virginia.

10:23 p.m EST: Sustained winds of 54 mph were reported this hour at Chesapeake Light buoy, a few miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.

10:18 p.m. EST: Heavy snow is now reported at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, where blowing snow and freezing fog were also observed at 10:03 p.m., reducing the visibility to 1/4 of a mile. Snowfall rates have reached 1 inch per hour at Dulles International and Reagan National airports.

10:10 p.m. EST: The new top snowfall total in Tennessee is 13.4 inches near Newfound Gap, near the North Carolina border. Snow continues to fall over eastern Tennessee, so additional snowfall is expected.

9:37 p.m. EST: Snow was starting to fall in the Staten Island borough of New York City. Snow was also reported in nearby Newark, New Jersey.

9:31 p.m. EST: The new top snowfall total in Maryland is 10 inches in Oakland, in the western part of the panhandle.

9:19 p.m. EST: Snow continues to fall across northeastern Alabama, where conditions have become so treacherous that the Madison County Sheriff's Office reported that all roads north of Highway 72 were impassible at 9:13 p.m. In adjacent northern Georgia, snow is falling for the third straight hour at Atlanta, where the temperature has fallen to 33 degrees.

8:40 p.m. EST: Snow is falling in parts of the Florida, including near the Tallahassee area. Mixed precipitation was reported DeFuniak in the western part of the Florida panhandle at 8:35 p.m.

8:29 p.m. EST: A storm surge of 2 feet was observed at Beaufort, North Carolina, a signal that the coastal flood threat will be ramping up through the night across much of the Eastern Seaboard.

8:04 p.m. EST: Snow is falling as far south as southern Alabama, where the National Weather Service reported flurries at Mobile Regional Airport at 6:49 p.m. local time, or 7:49 p.m. EST.

7:30 p.m. EST: The new top snowfall total in West Virginia is 15.5 inches in Teays Valley. The National Weather Service office near Charleston reports 13.1 inches of snowfall as of 7 p.m., with 7.7 inches of that coming in just 6 hours between 1 and 7 p.m. today.

6:54 p.m. EST: Light snow has arrived in Philadelphia, fighting off very dry air in place ahead of Winter Storm Jonas. The snow began at 6:33 p.m.

6:33 p.m. EST: New top snow totals for two states: 16 inches at Rural Retreat, Virginia, and 14 inches near Hurricane, West Virginia.

6:24 p.m. EST: Snow is still falling in northern Middle Tennessee, including Nashville. Cross Plains, near the Kentucky border, has reported 11 inches of snow, the new top total for Tennessee.

5:56 p.m. EST: The National Weather Service has added Lancaster and York counties of south-central Pennsylvania to the blizzard warnings. The warnings will be in effect there until 7 a.m. Sunday. This brings the number of Americans under blizzard warnings to 31.6 million.

5:48 p.m. EST: Snow has reached New Jersey. Trenton reported snow beginning at 5:29 p.m. Curiously, the snow began in Trenton even though Philadelphia (to the southwest of Trenton) has yet to report any snow, at least at its two airport observation sites.

5:44 p.m. EST: Ice accumulations of 1/4 to 1/2 inch have snapped tree limbs up to 6 inches thick in Emit, North Carolina, to the south of Raleigh. Power is out in the area.

5:28 p.m. EST: Power outages are starting to increase rapidly in North Carolina, where about 104,000 customers are now without power according to a survey of data from regional utility websites. Many of them are in the central part of the state, near and just south of Raleigh. Raleigh-Durham International Airport is reporting light freezing rain with a temperature of 32 degrees and winds gusting to 36 mph. Another 22,000 customers are without power in Upstate South Carolina.

4:57 p.m. EST: You can imagine our stunned surprise to learn that the new top snowfall total from Winter Storm Jonas is in a place called Jonas Ridge, North Carolina. County officials say 18 inches of snow have fallen in that mountain town.

4:22 p.m. EST: The National Weather Service has expanded winter storm warnings northward to include Westchester County in New York and the entire coast of Connecticut. This brings the number of Americans in winter storm warnings or blizzard warnings to just under 68 million in 20 states.

4:12 p.m. EST: The National Weather Service says ice is beginning to cling to elevated surfaces in the far northern suburbs of Atlanta, between Alpharetta and Cumming, Georgia.

3:53 p.m. EST: The National Weather Service has expanded blizzard warnings into the far north and west suburbs of Philadelphia; central Delaware, including Dover; and more of southern New Jersey, including Vineland and Millville. Blizzard warnings now include more than 30 million Americans.

3:43 p.m. EST: Blizzard warnings are now in effect for Nantucket Island in Massachusetts and Block Island in the state of Rhode Island, beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday and expiring at 1 a.m. Sunday.

3:37 p.m. EST: The new top snowfall report from Winter Storm Jonas is 16 inches near Beattyville in eastern Kentucky.

3:34 p.m. EST: Officials in Tennessee continue to clean up multi-vehicle accidents on Interstate 40 eastbound just east of Cookeville; I-40 westbound in Nashville near the I-24 interchange; Interstate 65 southbound near the Briley Parkway exit in Nashville; and I-65 northbound in Sumner County, north of Nashville.

3:05 p.m. EST: The National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts, has issued a high wind warning for Nantucket and Cape Cod valid from 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday. They will be issuing blizzard warnings for Block Island and Martha's Vineyard shortly.

2:57 p.m. EST: About 22,000 customers are without electricity in North Carolina, and nearly 23,000 customers are without power in South Carolina, according to data from electric utility websites.

2:33 p.m. EST: Both Reagan National and Dulles International airports in the Washington D.C. area are already reporting moderate snow and visibility near half a mile. Temperatures are 24 and 23 degrees, respectively – well below freezing. Winds have not begun ramping up yet, however.

2:15 p.m. EST: Snow totals have reached the 10-inch mark in Virginia near Red Sulphur Springs and in West Virginia at Dingess.

1:50 p.m. EST: The new top snowfall totals from Winter Storm Jonas are both in eastern Kentucky: 13 inches in Ida May and 13 inches near Beattyville.

1:30 p.m. EST: Snow has begun in the Washington D.C. area. Reagan National Airport reported its first snowflakes at 12:58 p.m.; Dulles International Airport, west of the city in northern Virginia, started seeing snow at 12:34 p.m.

1:10 p.m. EST: There were 12 injury collisions and 200 non-injury collisions in Nashville Friday morning according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. Up to 7.1 inches of snow fell on the southwest side of the city, according to the National Weather Service.

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