By Isabelle Ortiz | Staff Writer
From the beginning of 2022 to now, the mid-Atlantic has seen its largest snowstorms since 2019. The mid-Atlantic has seen more than a foot of snow scattered throughout parts of Maryland, Delaware, and Southern New Jersey, as well as other states towards the center of the U.S. and towards the shorelines of the Atlantic ocean.
Huntingtown, MD, received what is likely the largest total of snowfall recorded, according to the National Weather Service. Snowing 15.5 inches, the expectation is that it would remain the same until Jan. 10.
On Jan. 10, the Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, declared a state of emergency in five southern counties, calling the recent snowstorms the “most significant” snow event in his four years of office. The Weather Service reported 13.5 inches of snow on the same day in Egg Harbor Township, NJ.
In addition, snowstorms have hit portions of Northern Alabama, Northern Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida. Thunderstorms were also reported in Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.
In the mid-Atlantic region, 375,000 people reported not having service. Virginia is facing over 281,000 customers still without power, according to PowerOutage.us. Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia also had the most recorded outages across the U.S., with thousands of people without electricity.
Virginia Governor Ralph Nor-tham also declared a state of emergency.
On Jan. 5, another snowstorm appeared days after a powerful snowstorm had covered the state of Virginia, leaving hundreds of drivers stranded for hours.
On Jan. 3, a snowstorm swept through Washington D.C. and caused federal offices and schools to close. With 4 to 8 inches of snow and winds going 40 miles per hour creating a blizzard, airplanes were forced to ground.
Three people in Washington D.C. were killed when their SUV collided with a snowplow on Jan. 10. Heavy winds, rain, and snow caused trees to fall in Georgia and Tennessee, resulting in the death of two children. A 5-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl were found dead in their home, with their mother barely alive, as reported by NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta.
Inclement weather is expected to accumulate as much as six to eight inches of snow in parts of Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains and West Virginia, according to the National Weather Service. More outages and stranded locals are to be expected with upcoming heavy storms.