Winter Storm Gail affected many states across the east coast, leaving a different effect on each state. Some states were not affected that badly by the storm, while other states were battling the worst. Around 70,000 power outages were reported, but this wasn’t even the worst winter storm the east coast has seen. 

This storm started Wednesday night and continued into Thursday morning. Towns like New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston received about 6-12 inches of snow. Wellsboro, Pennsylvania received 18.8 inches, and Albany, New York received over 22 inches. Because of the snow and freezing temperatures, there was a mixture of ice and black ice. This made it much harder for people to shovel their driveways and clear the snow. There were many crashes reported along the east coast, one even led to someone passing away after being trapped under 66 cars. A total of 5 people lost their lives due to the snowstorm. Pennsylvania and New York were affected most by this storm, but other states like New Jersey were barely affected at all. 

Few schools closed, but many felt it was unnecessary to do so. Since schools were already virtual, districts felt no need to close since there was power in their area. The schools that did close, for example, the Freehold Regional High School District, closed to give their students a break from the computer and a day to rest. They were one of the few schools that took this day off. NYC schools closed as well and kept all their students virtual for the day. Many kids were going in-person and it wasn’t very safe for anyone to leave their house.  

Winter Storm Gail did leave some damage across the East Coast but it is nothing they haven’t seen before.