Winter is coming. Well, not that winter, but a sizable winter storm called Winter Storm Jonas is rapidly moving across the northeast of the U.S. Nearly 65 million people in 18 states are bracing themselves for the storm of the year, according to the Weather Channel. Most of the East Coast has received blizzard warnings or winter storm warnings as Jonas is expected to unleash heavy snowfall, ice and wind.
Winter Storm Jonas is expected to affect one-third of the U.S., according to national weather experts. The storm has been moving north since Wednesday and has already caused several deaths. Government officials from Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia have announced a state of emergency and state of preparedness.
Washington D.C. snowfall is predicted to reach 30 inches with wind gusts in excess of 50 miles per hour, which would break a city record set in 1922. “This will be a potentially paralyzing storm that is life-threatening,” Louis Uccellini, the National Weather Service director warned in a press conference.
The National Weather Service has warned residents not to travel. This warning, issued across much of the eastern U.S., has caused long grocery lines as residents fear a complete shutdown due to the storm. Trader Joe’s was not spared the onslaught of frenzied shoppers.
You may wonder what survival items flew off Trader Joe’s shelves. Here are a few Trader Joe’s survival essentials that went fast pre-Jonas:
- Nearly all bread items.
- Organic kiwis and most of the produce, including shitaki mushrooms.
- Raisin bagels, a delicious morning snack — if you have electricity for your toaster to work.
- Any bottles of wine under $7 — no-brainer.
- Crackers, cheese and deli meat (possibly for wine) — keeping survival classy.
- Bottled water went fast, which is wise.
- The essentials: eggs, milk and meat.
- Veggie tortilla chips, really?
- And, of course, frozen pizza: a college dorm and end-of-days survival staple.
Many Americans may be reliving last year’s blizzard that covered much of the Northeast at roughly around the same time of year. The National Weather Service described that storm as a “crippling and potentially historic blizzard,” according to CNN reports in January 2015. Residents lined up at supermarkets in hopes of stockpiling supplies to weather the storm.
It appears this year is no different, as people “storm” the aisles of Trader Joe’s. As Saturday morning approaches, Trader Joe’s shelves are bare. During the rush, some Trader Joe’s employees tried to lighten the mood, walking store aisles with signs that read “The End of the Line is Here!” The clever pun was lost on many frantic shoppers. One report noted that by 8:30 p.m. on Thursday evening, the 14th Street Trader Joe’s in Washington D.C. looked like a scene from The Walking Dead.
What would you grab at Trader Joe’s to survive?
—The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-jonas-forecast-blizzard-warning-january-22
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/22/winter-storm-jonas-east-coast-snow-washington-dc-new-york
http://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=DC1255E4EB7124.BlizzardWarning.1255E50944B0DC.LWXWSWLWX.0f01f3eb71b61137942b539c1193cccf
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/26/us/winter-storm-timeline
