Blizzard of 2026 wallops Northeast: Over 37 inches in Providence, 9,000+ flights canceled
The blockbuster blizzard intensified into a bomb cyclone and piled up record snow in Providence, Rhode Island. AccuWeather estimated $34 to $38 billion in damages and economic loss.
Drone footage from Plymouth County, Massachusetts, shows cars buried under snow after a powerful winter storm swept through the Northeast on Feb. 23.
The Blizzard of 2026 rewrote snowfall records across southern New England, burying parts of the I-95 corridor under feet of snow and triggering sweeping travel shutdowns from the mid-Atlantic into Maine.
A view of a snow-covered street after a powerful, multiday blizzard dumped about 19 inches of snow in Long Island City, New York, United States on Feb. 23, 2026. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Record-setting snow and hurricane-force wind gusts
The storm delivered extreme snowfall rates and powerful winds across the Northeast Sunday and Monday as it strengthened into a bomb cyclone, a term used when a storm rapidly intensifies. Over a foot of snow fell from Philadelphia to New York City and Boston, with the blizzard unleashing its wrath in southern New England and Long Island.
Providence, Rhode Island, measured more snow Monday (35.5 inches) than what fell in the past two winters combined (33.9 inches). It was also the single biggest snowstorm in the city's history, with a storm total of 37.9 inches.
Travel was shut down in New York City, where 19.7 inches of heavy, wet snow stuck to every surface and clogged city streets. The city has now measured 42 inches this season, making it the snowiest winter since 2014-15.
Philadelphia measured 14 inches of snow, pushing the city’s seasonal total to 30 inches and ranking this winter as the 15th snowiest on record.
A snowman stands in a park in front of the skyline of midtown Manhattan and the Empire State Building in New York City following a snowstorm on February 23, 2026, in Hoboken, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Wind gusts were fierce near the coast, including 83 mph at Nantucket and 77 mph at Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Gusts to 74 mph were recorded at Gosnold, Massachusetts, and Kingstown, Rhode Island.
Travel bans, flight cancellations and widespread disruptions
Travel was shut down across several states and major travel hubs due to the combination of heavy snow, intense winds and low visibility.
Between Sunday and Monday, more than 9,000 flights were canceled, including almost every flight into or out of LaGuardia airport Monday. On the roads, travel restrictions and bans were enacted across multiple states and metro areas, with officials warning that whiteout visibility and impassable roads made conditions too dangerous for all but essential travel.
A worker with the Times Square Alliance sanitation crew shovels snow in Times Square, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Transit agencies also curtailed service. NJ TRANSIT suspended rail, bus, light rail and Access Link service during the height of the storm, and other systems across the region faced major delays and shutdowns.
New York City deployed 2,300 plows and 700 salt spreaders to clear streets after the first “old school” snow day since 2019.
Power outages and a deadly toll
As the storm intensified, power outages surged across the Northeast. By Monday afternoon, outages were affecting 644,062 customers, according to PowerOutage.US, with Massachusetts and New Jersey reporting the largest totals.
The nor’easter also turned deadly. In Calvert County, Maryland, two people were killed and another was seriously injured Sunday afternoon as the storm intensified, when a falling tree struck a vehicle, authorities said.
“Roads across the area are currently treacherous and unsafe,” the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office said around the time of the crash. “For your safety and the safety of first responders, please do not travel unless absolutely necessary.”
Intense blizzard conditions stranded vehicle after vehicle throughout Long Island on Feb. 23, leaving many drivers to try to rescue themselves as first responders dealt with their own stuck vehicles.
Even after the heaviest snow and strongest winds began to ease, crews faced the slow work of clearing snow-choked roads and removing downed trees and power lines.
How costly was the Blizzard of 2026?
AccuWeather experts estimated overall damages and economic loss from the storm would total $34 to $38 billion, reflecting both direct impacts and broader disruptions to travel, business, schools and daily life.
“This winter has been remarkably costly and disruptive for people across the eastern half of the country,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. “This blockbuster blizzard is the third major storm so far this winter to cause billions of dollars in damage and losses.
Storm chasers captured monster storm’s intensity
Storm chasers were spread across the Northeast to document the fury of the record-setting blizzard, including along the coast where wind-driven snow reduced visibility and created difficult conditions for road crews.
“We have been getting hammered by these strong winds,” Extreme Storm Chaser Aaron Jayjack said Monday morning from Long Branch, New Jersey. “It is nasty out here.”
High waves pound houses on the shoreline in Scituate, Massachusetts, on February 23. 2026. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images)
From Massachusetts, Storm Chaser Jaden Pappenheim described the rapid strengthening of the storm and the intensity of conditions near the coast.
“Intense nor’easter is bombing out along the Northeast coast right now, bringing 60- to 70-mile-an-hour gusts,” Pappenheim said while reporting from Plymouth, Massachusetts, Monday morning. “We’re going to see snowfall rates in excess of 2 to 3 inches an hour,” he added.
What’s next? More chances for snow
Even as cleanup got underway from the Blizzard of 2026, AccuWeather forecasters warn the pattern would stay active through the week.
“A clipper storm will track across the Great Lakes Tuesday and Wednesday, spreading a swath of snow from eastern Minnesota into New England,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Elizabeth Danco said. “Farther south, including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City, snow can mix with rain as the storm moves through the region.” Danco added there could be another fast-moving storm that swings through the region Thursday into Thursday night.
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