Historic blizzard buries New England under 3 feet of snow as winds top 80 mph
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey lifted a travel ban for southeastern Massachusetts on Tuesday after some communities in the region recorded well over 2 feet of snow.
Drone footage from Plymouth County, Massachusetts, shows cars buried under snow after a powerful winter storm swept through the Northeast on Feb. 23.
New England is digging out after record-setting snowfall and damaging winds from the historic Blizzard of 2026 shut down travel and buried communities across the region. More than 30 inches of snow accumulated, exceeding totals from all of last winter in many parts of the area.
The powerful winter storm rapidly intensified, “bombing out” as atmospheric pressure dropped 41 millibars (1.21 inches of mercury) in 24 hours — well beyond the benchmark for a bomb cyclone. The storm blasted coastal areas with hurricane-force wind gusts topping 80 mph.
Wind gusts peaked at 83 mph in Nantucket, 77 mph in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, and 74 mph in Kingston, Rhode Island.
A man tries to get his car out of a snow-buried Presidents Ave. on February 24, 2026, the day after a massive blizzard hit the region. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Storm chaser Jaden Pappenheim was in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Monday during peak impacts as extreme winds and blinding snow battered the coast.
"The 60- to 75-mph wind gusts have just smacked the snow up against the buildings," Pappenheim said. "Every single building in downtown Plymouth is covered in snow. It's definitely a winter wonderland out here."
Storm chaser Jaden Pappenheim reported from downtown Plymouth, Massachusetts, where everything in sight was coated with snow on Feb. 23.
Even on Sunday, the winds were intense as AccuWeather Correspondent Ali Reid reported from Plymouth. Power was out across Plymouth County as sustained winds blasted the coastal area.
"It's to the point where if I were to lean back like this, that is the wind holding my body up," Reid said, leaning into the wind. "That is sick."
At the height of the storm, more than 250,000 customers lost power in Massachusetts, along with about 12,000 in Rhode Island.
Travel became treacherous as heavy snow and powerful winds reduced visibility to near zero at times. During the storm, the Massachusetts State Police helped more than 500 drivers who became stuck in the snow.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey lifted a travel ban for southeastern Massachusetts Tuesday after some communities in the region recorded well over 2 feet of snow.
People shovel out their cars on June Street on Feb. 24, 2026, in Fall River, the day after a massive blizzard hit the region. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Whitman, Massachusetts, received 33.7 inches of snow, while Boston Logan International Airport measured 31.8 inches.
Air travel was heavily disrupted. More than half of departing flights at Boston Logan International Airport were canceled Monday, along with more than 60% of flights at Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport, according to FlightAware.
Rhode Island's T.F. Green sets all-time snowfall record
T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island, set a new all-time storm snowfall record during the Blizzard of 2026 with 37.9 inches.
Top Blizzard of 2026 snowfall totals.
The total shattered the previous record of 28.6 inches set during the Blizzard of 1978. The storm also established a new daily snowfall record of 35.5 inches, breaking the previous daily mark of 19 inches set in 1996. In addition, Feb. 23 set a new record for the date, surpassing the previous 3.8 inches recorded in 1967.
The snowstorm disrupted daily life across New England.
For the first time in its more than 150-year history, The Boston Globe was unable to print its daily newspaper because staff could not safely reach the printing plant, according to a statement posted on the paper’s website.
Massachusetts officials requested out-of-state assistance for snow removal, and Vermont Emergency Management responded. Crews and equipment from the Vermont Department of Transportation began arriving Tuesday.
“We’re grateful for our strong regional partnerships and their swift support,” MEMA said.
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