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 Midtown Manhattan sprang back to life on a bright and sunny Sunday
as residents and tourists rejoiced in the warming sunlight, digging
out buried cars, heading to Broadway shows and cavorting in massive
drifts left by New York City's second-biggest snowstorm in history.
In Washington, where a traffic ban was still in effect, the recovery
got off to a slower start, with the entire transit system closed
through Sunday. The Office of Personnel Management said federal
government offices in the Washington area will be closed on Monday,
along with state and local government offices and schools.
Even so, many people were out in the street. Some skied and
snowboarded down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial until security
officials moved them on.
The entire region seemed to breathe a sigh of relief after what was
unofficially known as Winter Storm Jonas left at least 20 dead in
several states.
"For us, snow is like a normal winter," said Viola Rogacka, 21, a
fashion model from Poland, walking with a friend through New York's
Times Square. "It's how it should look like."
Theater shows reopened on Broadway after the blizzard forced them to
go dark on Saturday on the recommendation of New York Mayor Bill de
Blasio.
 "We still have some areas that we have to do a lot more work on. But
we've come through it pretty well," de Blasio said on ABC's "This
Week." "I think tomorrow is going to be pretty good. We think we'll
be broadly up and running again at the city tomorrow."
HISTORIC STORM
The blizzard was the second-biggest snowstorm in New York City
history, with 26.8 inches (68 cm) of snow in Central Park by
midnight on Saturday, just shy of the record 26.9 inches (68.3 cm)
set in 2006, the National Weather Service said.
Thirteen people were killed in weather-related car crashes in
Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia on
Saturday. One person died in Maryland and three in New York while
shoveling snow. Two died of hypothermia in Virginia, and one from
carbon monoxide poisoning in Pennsylvania, officials said.
Reinsurer Munich Re said it was too early to estimate losses from
the storm.
New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo lifted a travel ban on New York
City-area roads and on Long Island at 7 a.m. ET on Sunday. A state
of emergency declared by Cuomo was still in place.
Most bus and subway services operated by the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority were up and running again by 9 a.m. ET,
officials said. The agency was working on restoring full service on
Sunday.
The Metro-North rail line, which serves suburbs north and east of
New York City, was restored on Sunday afternoon and was operating on
a Sunday schedule. Service remained suspended on the Long Island
Rail Road.
Commuters who rely on the Long Island Rail Road to get to work on
Monday may need to look for alternatives as the railroad works to
restore service. Crews were working on Sunday to remove snow from an
intersection near train tunnels to Manhattan.
A spokeswoman for the New York Stock Exchange said the market
planned to open as usual on Monday. City schools also were set to
open on Monday.
On the Upper West Side of Manhattan, grocery store shoppers picked
their way through brown slush and over compressed snow and ice as
they balanced their bags in their hands.
Drivers tried their best to free cars that were encased in snow, but
often found themselves spinning their wheels as they tried to get on
the road.
Outside the city, suburban New Jersey resembled Vermont.
"I'm not sure where I am right now because of all the snow," said
Patty Orsini, 56, a marketing analyst from Maplewood, New Jersey, at
the nearby South Mountain Reservation. "It's nice to be out today in
the sun. Yesterday it was scary to be outside," she said as she
clipped on her cross-country skis.
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RECORDS SET
The National Weather Service said 22.4 inches (57 cm) fell in
Washington at the National Zoo, and Baltimore-Washington
International Airport notched a record 29.2 inches (74.2 cm). The
deepest regional total was 42 inches (106.7 cm) at Glengarry, West
Virginia.
Washington, which has a poor track record in dealing with snow,
seemed unready for a return to its Monday routine after its largest
snowstorm in decades, with major airports, public buses and subways
completely shut down all Sunday. Metro trains will begin limited
service starting at 7 a.m. on Monday.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser earlier issued a public apology for
commuting headaches caused by the blizzard, which locals dubbed
"Snowzilla." She said crews had worked all night and Sunday on
plowing main roads and were just now getting to secondary roadways
and neighborhoods.
Public schools were closed on Monday across much of the Washington
and Baltimore region, with some shuttered through Tuesday. All
federal government offices will be closed on Monday and the U.S.
House of Representatives canceled its voting until Feb. 1 and the
Pentagon canceled all its events.
Nevertheless, walkers, sledders, some cars and the occasional
cross-country skier ventured into the dazzling white under a bright
sun.
Paul Schaaf, a 49-year-old helicopter pilot for Children's Hospital
in Washington, was biking 7-1/2 miles (12 km) to work for his
overnight shift and planned to bike back to Arlington, Virginia, on
Monday morning.
"I have to get into work no matter what. And the best way to do it
is on my bicycle with steel-studded snow tires," he said. "Nothing
stops me."
One Washington food store, Broad Branch Market, opened with a
handful of employees, and was trying to organize volunteers to
shovel the sidewalks of the elderly and others who needed help.
"I have a lot of people on the list but I have yet to have any kids
sign up to work today," said owner Tracy Stannard.
At Dupont Circle, hundreds gathered to pelt each other with
snowballs. Jomel Nichols, a tourist from Kansas City, Missouri,
accompanying three exchange students and her daughter, was plastered
with snow.
"They all turned on me, as teenagers will do," she told Reuters
Television.
FLIGHTS CANCELED
More than 3,900 flights were canceled on Sunday, and some 900 were
called off for Monday, according to aviation website
FlightAware.com.
Among New York-area airports, John F. Kennedy International, Newark
Liberty and LaGuardia were open, with limited flight activity
expected on Sunday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
said.
About 150,000 customers in North Carolina and 90,000 in New Jersey
lost electricity during the storm but most service had been restored
by Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday, moderate coastal flooding was still a concern in the
Jersey Shore's Atlantic County, said Linda Gilmore, a county public
information officer.
(Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert and Susan Cornwell in
Washington, David Gaffen, Sam Forgione, Barbara Goldberg and Robert
MacMillan in New York, Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee; Writing by Bill
Rigby and Steve Gorman; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler)
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