East Coast Snowstorm Winds Down: Americans Prepare To Dig Out, Travel Bans Likely To Be Lifted

UPDATE: 7 a.m. EST — A travel ban prompted by the winter blizzard was lifted Sunday in New York City and Long Island. Limited Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus service was restored and above-ground subway service is expected to partially resume at 9 a.m. EST, CBS New York reported.

Original story:

Almost two days after the mammoth blizzard brought much of the Each Coast to standstill, Americans were preparing to dig out Sunday, according to reports. Powerful winds, however, prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue a coastal flood warning and advisory in the region.

Authorities in New York planned to lift travel bans at 7 a.m. EST Sunday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. The storm affected over 85 million Americans and left at least 18 people dead.

Although United Airlines said it is likely to resume limited service Sunday afternoon in New York City, airports in the Washington D.C. area were expected to remain closed through the day, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Other airlines started to cut Monday service along with the 7,000 already canceled weekend flights, AP added.

The winter storm warning from New York to Virginia remained in effect till 7 a.m. EST Sunday. The NWS issued coastal flood warning in New Jersey counties of Middlesex and Monmouth.

“The Sunday morning high tide is higher than [Saturday] evenings. So while the surge and incoming seas will be slightly less, the higher astronomical tide will compensate and result in similar [Saturday] flood episode Sunday morning,” the NWS said in the warning.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican presidential hopeful, left the campaign trail to examine the emergency response in his state. He confirmed that New Jersey faced about 90,000 power outages.

"For folks who lose power, please, given how cold the weather is, try to go and shelter in the home of a friend or family member if you can. Don't stay in the cold," Christie said at a news conference, according to AFP.

Hard freeze warning, meaning temperatures less than 27 degrees Fahrenheit, were expected in parts of Florida. The NWS predicted freeze durations of seven to 11 hours.

Meanwhile, the storm proved fateful for an Ohio teenager who was hit by truck and killed while sledding behind an all-terrain vehicle, according to the AP. Two people died of hypothermia in southwest Virginia and in North Carolina, a man whose car veered off a road was arrested on charges of killing a motorist who stopped to help, the AP reported.

The storm blanketed a large area stretching from Tennessee and Kentucky to New England. About 2 feet of snow was dumped in the Washington area and hundreds of accidents and thousands of power outages were reported in the storm's path.

The southern states of Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia also witnessed snow and sleet, which is not usual for these states.

While the blizzard affected millions of Americans, Tian Tian the panda at the National Zoo in Washington seemed to be enjoying in the storm and snowfall. The zoo posted a video Saturday of the panda rolling down in the snow and playing , which went viral.