Blockbuster blizzard is shifting its roar from New Jersey and New York to New England
A major nor'easter has become a bomb cyclone and will continue to produce blizzard conditions in southeastern New England and coastal New York while the storm slowly subsides farther west into Monday evening.
Strong winds knocked out power along the Massachusetts coast in the early morning hours of Feb. 23.
A storm moving along the Northeast coast of the United States has rapidly strengthened into a bomb cyclone. Into Monday evening, the major nor'easter will focus its fury on coastal areas of New York and southeastern New England as snow winds down in New Jersey. Farther west, the snow has ended in the zone from Delaware to Pennsylvania and Maryland. However, strong coastal winds will continue to create harsh, dangerous conditions and blowing and drifting snow.
"This is the first blizzard for much of the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coasts in about four years," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys said. "In much of southeastern New England, this storm will rival the infamous Blizzard of '78 in terms of intensity and snowfall."
Providence, Rhode Island, has set a new snowstorm record with 32.8 inches of snow and counting, breaking the old record of 28.6 inches from Feb. 6-7, 1978. This has been a record snowfall for Islip, New York.
"For New York City, the last time there was a blizzard warning in effect was during the storm from Feb. 8-9, 2017," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill added. That storm brought 9.4 inches of snow to Central Park in Manhattan. As of Monday afternoon, 19.7 inches of snow have fallen on New York City's Central Park.
"For Philadelphia, this is the biggest single snowfall event since Jan. 22-23, 2016, when 22.4 inches of snow fell," Roys said. "The storm total for Philadelphia was about 14 inches on Monday."
This image of the bomb cyclone just off the coast of the northeastern United States was captured on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. An eyelike structure, similar to a hurricane, was visible. (AccuWeather RealVue™ Satellite)
The blockbuster blizzard has all but shut down travel in a heavily populated, very busy region of the nation with road closures and thousands of flight cancellations and delays from this weekend to Monday. These effects will continue into Tuesday and perhaps Wednesday until aircraft and crews are relocated, schedules adjusted and crews have a chance to clear the snow.
The flights that do operate will be subject to extensive delays due to deicing operations and runway maintenance. Airline effects from the coastal storm in the Northeast will ripple throughout the U.S. and to some extent on a global scale due to the volume of domestic and international flights handled by the hubs from Philadelphia and New York City to Boston.
The maximum observed gust so far was just 84 mph at Montauk Point, New York, located on the eastern tip of Long Island. Hurricane-force winds begin at 74 mph.
For southeastern New England, blizzard conditions will continue into Monday evening, with winds gusting to 35 mph or more and visibility dropping to one-quarter mile or less for at least three consecutive hours.
As of Monday afternoon, there were approximately two dozen official National Weather Service reporting sites that have experienced blizzard conditions in the coastal Northeast thus far, including Boston, Providence, Rhode Island, and Newark, New Jersey.
Why a bomb cyclone?
This major winter storm has experienced "bombogenesis," becoming a bomb cyclone by early Monday.
“Very simply, it’s a storm where its pressure drops 24 millibars in 24 hours (0.71 of an inch of mercury),” AccuWeather Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. As pressure decreases, the storm intensifies and wind and precipitation increase as well, Rayno added.
Storm has developed to its full potential
Compared to the storm from Jan. 24-26 which brought lightweight, dry, powdery snow, this storm, due to its heavy, clinging snow, will make shoveling difficult and dangerous for some individuals in poor health and might need to be left for professional removal.
Across portions of New Jersey and Long Island, New York, through portions of southeastern New England, 18-24 inches of snow is forecast with local amounts to and just above 3 feet.
Snowfall rates of 1-3 inches per hour have occurred at times and may continue to overwhelm road crews, leaving some motorists stranded from New Jersey and New York to southeastern New England.
Snowfall farther west in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, upstate New York and West Virginia was highly variable from community to community and from road to non-paved surfaces from Sunday to early Monday. The effect of the February sun helped to minimize accumulation on road surfaces in many cases until Sunday evening. Melting will resume for several hours on Monday.
Thunder and lightning in a storm may be accompanied by flashes from transformer explosions. These conditions may explain some of the phenomena people witnessed Sunday night.
"The clinging nature of the snow and high winds will put a strain on trees and power lines, with extensive power outages anticipated," AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex Duffus warned. As of midday on Monday, close to two-thirds of a million people were without power in the Northeast, according to PowerOutage.us. Some may remain without power for a few days following the storm.
Wind gusts will frequently reach 35-60 mph along the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts. Gusts exceeding the minimum threshold of a hurricane will continue in southeastern New England.
Despite the wet nature of the snow, winds will be strong enough to cause extensive drifting in coastal areas. A storm surge of about 4 feet was occurring, relative to astronomical tides in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Monday afternoon. The strong northeast winds during part of the storm will qualify it as a major nor'easter, along with the blizzard and bomb cyclone terms.
The angle of the winds will push Atlantic water toward part of the coast for a time, leading to minor to moderate flooding at times of high tide from Delmarva to New Jersey, New York and eastern Massachusetts. Significant beach erosion is expected from Delmarva to Massachusetts.
After the blockbuster blizzard
While temperatures will hover near or above freezing in the heavy snow areas for a time on Monday, colder air will move in later in the day and at night, which will cause some areas of slush and standing water to freeze, unless treated.
Blustery and colder conditions are in store for Monday night and Tuesday in the Northeast, but the February sun effect will bring some natural melting for several hours on Tuesday.
This will be a striking contrast to the aftermath of the storm in mid-January, which was followed by weeks of persistent cold. Still, freezing cycles at night will lead to fresh areas of ice on streets, sidewalks and parking lots on a daily basis this week.
A clipper-style storm with snow and a wintry mix is forecast to travel from the northern part of the Great Lakes to the Northeast states by midweek.
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