After Massive Snowstorm, East Coast Digs Out — And Lives It Up

By Camila Domonoske / NPR

Published January 24, 2016 at 10:50 AM PST

This story was published more than 8 years ago.

Children slide in the snow in Central Park in New York on Sunday.

Snowball fights have become a tradition after every major snow storm in Washington, D.C.

This year's D.C. snowball fight was dubbed "Snow Wars: The Snowball Strikes Back" on Facebook.

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People ski in New York City's Central Park on Sunday.

Baltimore residents participate in a snowball fight on Sunday. The storm brought more than two feet of snow to Baltimore, according to the Weather Channel.

Sledders take advantage of the snow on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Sunday.

Sledders take over the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Sunday.

DC resident Sam Carson (right) helps his daughter, Cassidy, 3, build a snowman on the Capitol lawn on Sunday.

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Local resident Mollie Holleman takes in the sights with her dog, Duncan, near the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Snow is mostly cleared from around the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

People sled down an on ramp to I-76 West on Sunday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Millions of people are digging themselves out after a record snow storm affected most of the Mid Atlantic States.

A man walks by the Hudson River Shore in Jersey City, with the New York City skyline behind him, on Sunday. A massive winter storm that lasted a day and a half finally appeared to be winding down Sunday, giving snowbound residents the chance to begin removing — and enjoying — the snow.

A woman decorates a snowman in Times Square on Saturday, while all cars but emergency vehicles were banned from driving on the road. The travel ban was lifted Sunday morning.

A worker cleans the sidewalk along 19th Street in Washington on Sunday.

After Massive Snowstorm, East Coast Digs Out — And Lives It Up

Shovelful by shovelful, snowplow by snowplow, the East Coast is digging its way out from underneath an enormous winter storm that blanketed much of the region with up to three feet of snow.

And as high winds and 36 hours of snow give way to clear skies and sunshine, some people are taking to the wintry landscape with glee.

More and more streets are becoming passable, as snow crews clear the roads — although authorities in many regions still urge caution from drivers.

New York City's transportation systems are back up and running, for the most part, and a citywide travel ban was lifted at 7 a.m. on Sunday. Broadway shows have resumed. The New York Stock Exchange plans to open on Monday as normal.

Still, the effects of the storm are far from finished. Flights are still being canceled, with the impact stretching into Monday, and some local governments and schools are planning to stay shut one extra day.

Some legislators, meanwhile, are getting a whole week off. The U.S. House of Representatives — which has been adjourned for more than a week, and was due to take up votes again on Tuesday — has canceled votes until Monday, Feb. 1, because of the weather, Reuters reports.

The storm had many serious consequences — from impaired travel to casualties to the as-yet-untallied cost of coastal flooding.

But it also brought delight: not just to the National Zoo's giant panda, but to snow-lovers across the region.

The fun started even before the snow stopped — whether it was a pick-up game of snow football with D.C. police ...

... Washington-area kids burning off their cabin fever with some (now legal!) sledding on Capitol Hill ...

... Casey Neistat defying the travel ban in New York City to chase some thrills on a snowboard (with another surprising police appearance) ...

... or a kayak zooming down a road in West Virginia.

This volume of snow is rare for most of the millions of people affected by this storm. That it arrived on a weekend — when even people who don't normally get snow days can enjoy it — is an added perk.

And since the sun came out, the occasion has been marked with snowball fights, skiing and sledding up and down the coast.