Monday, January 25, 2016. Last Thursday, the most important airlines in the United States announced the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights; due to the imminent arrival of storm Jonas, the first of winter, which according to meteorologists will not only leave a lot of snow, but also strong winds. At a press conference, Louis Uccellini indicated that this storm had a high potential to become extremely dangerous.
For their part, on Friday Washington and Baltimore canceled more than 900 flights due to the arrival of Jonas, which was expected for noon hours. Likewise, «American Airlines»warned in a statement that the Charlotte airport would remain inoperative, given the possibility of ice sheets forming on the runways. These cancellations affected other airports in major cities such as New York, Atlanta, Dallas and Chicago.
On the other hand, Jonas was expected to be active throughout the weekend, and will afflict 14 central-eastern states. The most vulnerable spots would be the urban areas of Washington, Baltimore, and central Virginia; where he The US National Weather Service predicted snow accumulations of 45 to 60 centimeters, while CNN raised the figure to 80 centimeters..
If these predictions were fulfilled, a new snow record would be defined, surpassing the one set in 1922 when the layers of snow accumulated in the streets reached 71 centimeters high.. This occasion, dating back nearly 100 years, is not a fond memory for Washingtonians; since almost 100 people died after the roof of a theater collapsed due to the weight of the accumulated snow on it.
In total, 80 million people were on alert before the arrival of the storm; creating situations of danger and threat both for them and their properties. In these casestransit and mobility are severely limited, especially during the height of the storm.
Such is the case of Washington, where it was notified that the metro service would close at 11:00 p.m. local time on Friday, and would resume its activities until Monday, January 25. The authorities took this security measure to protect the lives of users and protect the trains. Also, the bus service would close an hour earlier, to ensure that they were stored in their garages at five in the afternoon on Friday..
Likewise, the accumulation of snow and the strong winds could cause the collapse of branches and trees, affecting the electricity supply. This is especially delicate, taking into account that people need a heating system for an optimal temperature in their homes. A similar situation occurred in 2010, when 60 centimeters of accumulated snow was reached, leaving thousands of people without electricity in urban Washington..