WASHINGTON, DC—Washingtonians paid a steep psychic price for Winter Storm Jonas.

On Thursday: The dread of having to shovel away an avalanche of snow. Friday afternoon through Saturday night: the stir craziness of being house bound. This week: The waiting to see when the schools will open, when the metro will be up and running, when the snow plow will get to you. The annoyance of not having it all cleaned up and trucked away immediately. A few flashes of primal rage when you turn on the TV and see New Yorkers bustling about.

And now the region must tally up the economic costs. Winter Storm Jonas just set the region back by an estimated $570 million. That is Moody Analytics' [paywall] estimate on the lost economic activity of the last several days, per The Associated Press.. That number is about a quarter of the total economic activity for a three-day stretch.

Overall Jonas will cost the economy $2.5 billion to $3 billion "a relatively small amount," Moody's said.

Estimates about the storm's damage are ranging a bit, however.

Aon Benfield compared Jonas to a storm in 1996 that caused an estimated economic loss of $4.6 billion and insured loss of $920 million in current dollar terms, according to a Reuters report, .

And in a video interview with Weather.com, weather expert Paul Walsh estimated that the storm probably cost the East Coast $16 billion in lost economic output.

Instant Insights /

Winter Storm Jonas Costs DC Area $570M

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