[ot-caption title=”Snow in New Jersey. (via, Freshman Saumya Jain)”]

Here in Florida we don’t get any snow, but some places get too much of it. After an unseasonably warm winter, a strong blizzard hit the Northeast of America last Friday, January 22nd, 2016. It lasted the whole weekend and was recorded as the fourth most powerful snowstorm to hit the Northeast in more than sixty-six years.

Almost twenty-four million people saw at least 20 inches of snow and some even say more than 30 inches, according to meteorologist Paul Kocin. This blizzard was categorized as a category four snow storm and caused snow to fall from Louisiana to Maine and even areas in the southern Midwest. Snowfall in New Jersey and New York City was more than what was forecasted and New Jersey experienced coastal flood damage. These states experienced severe snowfall that affected their areas and lives for a couple of days.

The aftermath of the storm cost Americans a fortune. The lost economic output is from about $2.5 billion to $3 billion, not including the damage inflicted on infrastructure. People in the impacted areas were also hurt during the storm, as shown through Virginia’s high death toll and many calls for help. Some Americans lost power and more than fifty people died as a result of car accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning, and heart attacks while shoveling snow.

This recent blizzard affected much of America, as at least fourteen states received more than a foot of snow.  This historical blizzard caused travel bans, school cancellations, and food shortages at the supermarkets. While this natural disaster doesn’t affect Florida, the people living up north and in other impacted areas were pelted with massive amounts of snow. Although the storm is gone now, areas in the United States will still be receiving more snow this winter.

Sources: ABC news, The Weather Channel, CBS News, Weather.com, LA Times