The unusually warm, snow-free winter in the United States has proved to be, to the disappointment of many, short-lived. Over the past several days, millions on the East Coast of the United States battled it out against Winter Storm Jonas, the blizzard that left over two feet of snow in New York, Maryland, and D. C., hundreds of thousands without power, and at least 15 dead. Hundreds were stranded in various airports around the nation and around the world as those on the East Coast canceled or delayed all incoming and outgoing flights. Based near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, my family and many of those around me were impacted as well.

    On Friday afternoon, a few hours before the snow was first predicted to begin falling, photos that showed completely empty bread, water and rock salt aisles at grocery and convenience stores began to surface on the Internet. The highways were incredibly busy in the early evening as employees rushed home. My school, and most others in the area, canceled all on- and off-campus activities for the weekend so as not to risk the students’ safety. The dance company at my school was set to perform at a two-day alumnae dance festival for a local university, but the event was called off. My Chinese school was canceled, too, so the weekend was set to be one spent exclusively at home. Many of my friends were horrified to hear that their SAT tests had been postponed and rescheduled due to the storm as well!

    True to the weather channel’s word, I woke up on Saturday morning to about a foot and a half of snow, and the storm continued until about midnight that night. It accumulated to over two feet in my area. My parents and I spent nearly the whole weekend shoveling and re-shoveling as inch after inch covered up the progress we had made — I don’t remember seeing this much snow near Philadelphia in my life before, nor do I remember being so sore from an act as simple as shoveling snow! My parents were worried that the deck behind my house would collapse from the weight of the snow. Thankfully, it didn’t, nor did my home lose power, although a couple of friends’ houses did.

    As always, though, many a brave soul found a way to turn the storm into a party. In Philadelphia, some ventured out to the Art Museum steps to go sledding. Humorous swimmers and non-swimmers alike put on their bathing suits and headed outside to literally dive into the snow. As for me, I stayed home to shovel, catch up on homework, sketch, and drink hot chocolate.

    On Sunday morning, I woke up to an ecstatic text message from a classmate, notifying me that the administration had closed school for Monday due to the inclement weather. Other school districts soon followed suit. Had Jonas not timed itself perfectly for the weekend, I might not have had school for the entire week! From skiing through Times Square to swimming in backyards, this snowstorm has truly been a historic one.