Winter Storm Jonas Update: New Jersey, New York Shovel Snow As Washington, Baltimore Contend With Ice, Flooding [PHOTOS]

UPDATE: 8:20 P.M. EST — U.S. federal government offices in Washington will be closed Monday, while New York City prepared for a normal workday following the worst snowstorm in decades on the U.S. East Coast. In Washington, where the entire transit system was closed through Sunday, the Office of Personnel Management said federal government offices in the area, along with local government offices and schools, will be closed Monday.

UPDATE: 4:52 P.M. EST — The death toll after the weekend's winter storm rose to 28 people, the Associated Press reported, as the Virginia state government announced it would close its offices Monday, citing dangerous road conditions in the wake of the blizzard.

Meanwhile, Washington, which saw around 2 feet of snow, announced its train systems were slowly reopening, the Washington Post reported.

UPDATE: 3:04 p.m. EST — In the wake of the big blizzard that struck the U.S. East Coast this weekend, the number of snowstorm-related deaths has risen to 25, the Associated Press reported Sunday. Many of the fatalities across nine states were caused by car crashes on icy roads. And several people were killed by carbon-monoxide poisoning after they were trapped in their cars with the exhaust pipes blocked.

Original story:

After a blizzard pummeled the northeast and parts of the mid-Atlantic states with the first major winter storm of the season, dumping more than 2 feet of snow in some areas, residents along the East Coast assessed the damage Sunday and began digging out. With several hundred thousand people without power and at least 18 people dead, emergency services worked to clear damage as residents got to work shoveling out of their homes.

The winter storm swept through Tennessee and the Carolinas, hitting Washington and Baltimore before aiming at New York, New Jersey and points north. Around 85 million people were in the path of the storm.

West Virginia saw the highest snowfall total, with 42 inches falling over the course of two days the Weather Channel reported.

The storm piled more than 2 feet of snow on most parts of New Jersey, and Gov. Chris Christie said residents pulled through the storm well, heeding travel bans and staying inside. “This was my 17th snow emergency in six years. We know how to do this,” the governor and Republican presidential candidate said Sunday on CNN’s "State of the Union." Around 20,000 homes and businesses were without power as of 8 a.m. EST.

While damage was minimal in New Jersey and New York, Maryland requested federal aid for extensive flooding and damage to many homes caused by roof collapses. Gov. Larry Hogan said recovery efforts would be "extensive," adding, "They will take time and patience," the Baltimore Sun reported.

Travel bans were imposed in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, and Washington. More than 10,000 flights has been canceled since Friday, the Weather Channel said, and many more flights were canceled ahead of Monday. As travel bans lifted Sunday in New York, New Jersey and Baltimore, public transportation slowly resumed.

The storm was the second-worst storm to have ever hit New York City, and residents began clearing their sidewalks and cars of more than two feet of snow. “We haven’t seen snow this season and we got this storm,” one Brooklyn resident told the New York Times, adding, “It’s a lot of snow.” The blizzard surpassed the storm of 1888 and came in second only to a 2006 blizzard that left 26.9 inches of snow, a tenth of an inch more than Saturday's storm, WABC, New York, reported.

In the nation’s capital, the U.S. Congress confirmed it had canceled all votes until at least Feb. 1, Reuters reported. Washington is ill-equipped to deal with a heavy snowfall, and the city was blanketed by 2 feet.

The majority of the deaths that occurred during the storm were on icy roads. A 4-year-old boy who was thrown from a pick-up truck in North Carolina was included in the fatalities. A good Samaritan who attempted to help someone who was stranded on the side of the road was shot and killed when the motorist became belligerent, the New York Times reported.