More than a foot of snow fell in major cities across the Northeast, with more than 3 feet at the worst of the storm in Rhode Island.
A powerful winter storm brought blizzard conditions to the East Coast as heavy snow and damaging winds shut down travel for millions from the mid-Atlantic to southern New England. New York City faced its first blizzard warning in nearly a decade, with widespread disruptions.
After becoming a bomb cyclone, this system continued to impact parts of New England with some areas reporting record-setting snow totals over 3 feet.
Here’s a recap on the major winter storm along the I-95 corridor.
A ambulance makes its way through whiteout conditions on February 23, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. The northeast U.S. was hit by an intense nor'easter with blizzard conditions, heavy snow, and strong winds.(Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Heavy snow from the Blizzard of 2026 continues to fall from Rhode Island to Maine into Monday night, adding to already historic snowfall totals.
Boston Logan International Airport has recorded 16.9 inches of snow, while Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport measured 37.9 inches — setting a new state snowfall record.
Blizzard conditions and blowing snow have forced widespread travel restrictions. A travel ban for non-essential vehicles is in effect in Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable and Duke counties in Massachusetts. Speed limits have also been reduced to 40 mph on the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90).
A statewide travel ban remains in effect across Rhode Island until further notice due to dangerous blizzard conditions, whiteout visibility and impassable roads.
Behind the blockbuster nor’easter, forecasters warn that there will be additional chances for wintry weather throughout 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. Click here for the forecast details.
Snow is still falling, and AccuWeather experts have already calculated the estimated cost of this epic blizzard and nor’easter.
Experts estimate overall snowstorm and blizzard conditions resulted in $34 to $38 billion in damages and economic loss. AccuWeather incorporates independent methods to evaluate all direct and indirect impacts of extreme weather to tally the cost of a weather disaster like this latest round of winter weather.
“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. Millions of people have felt the financial strain from the impacts of this very harsh winter, from increased heating and cleanup costs to travel, business, school, and childcare shutdowns.”
This marks the third billion-dollar weather event in the U.S. this year.
“Intense nor’easter is bombing out along the northeast coast right now, bringing 60 to 70 mile an hour gusts,” Storm Chaser Jaden Pappenheim said while reporting from Plymouth, Massachusetts. “We’re going to see snowfall rates in excess of 2 to 3 inches an hour,” he added. Watch Pappenheim’s full report below:
Storm Chaser Jaden Pappenheim reports from Plymouth, Massachusetts, where a blizzard has damaged structures and caused whiteout conditions and power outages in the area in the morning of Feb. 23.
Providence, Rhode Island, received 32.8 inches of snow by 1 p.m. Monday at T.F. Greene International Airport, shattering the city’s previous 1-day snowfall record.
The old record of 28.6 inches was set in 1978 during the city’s largest single snowstorm on record.
The final snowfall total is not yet in, as snow continues to fall across New England through Monday afternoon.
Power outages from the blizzard are now affecting a total of 644,062 customers, according to PowerOutage.US. The outages are a result of power poles and trees falling in hurricane-force wind gusts. The states with the largest number of outages are Massachusetts, with 291,045, and New Jersey with 132,964.
In Barnstable County on the coast of Massachusetts, 156,000 are in the dark out of 182,000 total customers (homes and businesses) as of this hour.
Workers clear snow from the steps at a subway station in Brooklyn as blizzard conditions continue on February 23, 2026, in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
After the first “old school” snow day since 2019 for New York City students on Monday, schools will be back open for class on Tuesday.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said parts of the city received between 16 and 19 inches of snow with near blizzard conditions, though eastern Staten Island reported over 24 inches of snow. Central Park recorded 19.7 inches of snow.
With the worst conditions moving on, Mamdani said schools will reopen for in-person learning on Tuesday.
New York City Department of Sanitation has 2,300 plows and 700 salt spreaders mobilized to clear snow from city streets swiftly in the wake of the storm.
Mamdani also announced that the city’s travel ban has been lifted but is urging motorists to exercise caution and be mindful of others on the roads.
A tree blocking a road in Calvert County, Maryland, on Feb. 23, 2026. (Facebook/Calvert County Sheriff's Office)
The nor’easter turned deadly in Calvert County, Maryland, where two people were killed and another person was seriously injured Sunday afternoon as the storm intensified. The local sheriff’s office said a falling tree struck a vehicle.
“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.” Even as weather conditions improve, it will take time for crews to clear roads blocked by snow and downed trees.
The Blizzard of 2026 has dropped more than 2 feet of snow to four states, along with wind gusts at or above hurricane-force (74 mph sustained winds).
In Remsenburg, New York, 27.5 inches of snow fell, with 26.5 inches at Swansea, Massachusetts, and Cranston, Rhode Island. Moonacie, New Jersey, recorded 24.2 inches.
Winds gusted to 83 mph at Nantucket, with 77 mph at Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Gusts to 74 mph were recorded at Gosnold, Massachusetts , and Kingstown, Rhode Island. As of noon, 657,000 customers were without power after the high winds, with 284,000 of those in Massachusetts, according to PowerOutage.US.
Whiteout conditions are making travel treacherous, and road crews are struggling to keep up with the heavy snow and howling winds. “We have been getting hammered by these strong winds,” Extreme Storm Chaser Aaron Jayjack said on Monday morning from Long Branch, New Jersey. “It is nasty out here.”
The strong, persistent winds are plastering snow onto the sides of buildings, light poles and other elevated surfaces. Watch Jayjack’s full report below:
Extreme storm chaser Aaron Jayjack shows blizzard conditions in Long Branch, New Jersey, with heavy, wet snow falling up to 3-4 inches per hour and strong winds near the beach.
As snowfall intensified in New York City on Sunday night, one resident captured a rare sight on video: thundersnow.
Thundersnow happens when a snowstorm produces lightning and thunder. It’s uncommon in nor’easters, but it can strike when a storm is strengthening quickly and snowfall is intense enough to build the kind of towering clouds needed for lightning. It’s seen more often in heavy bands of lake-effect snow and in snow showers over the Rocky Mountains.
It can also be easy to miss. Snow absorbs sound well, which can muffle thunder, and thick snowfall can hide distant lightning. That same sound-dampening effect is why it often feels unusually quiet outside after a big snowstorm.
Pedestrians cross 42nd Street near Bryant Park during a snow storm, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
AccuWeather Meteorologist Bernie Rayno explains how a bombogenesis, or “bomb cyclone,” forms. These storms can occur anytime of the year and they bring intense precipitation and damaging winds.
A bomb cyclone is a storm that strengthens extremely fast, and this nor’easter did exactly that along the Northeast coast from Sunday into Monday. The air pressure at the center of the storm plunged as it intensified. A storm earns “bomb cyclone” status when its central pressure drops at least 24 millibars (0.71 of an inch of mercury) in 24 hours. The nor’easter reached this benchmark in just 18 hours, with the pressure hitting the bomb cyclone threshold at 1 a.m. EST Monday — and it didn’t start there.
Over a 24-hour stretch, the pressure fell 40 millibars (1.18 inches of mercury), a dramatic drop that is even rare for powerful hurricanes.
The following airports have met the official definition of a blizzard this morning in the Northeast
• Massachusetts: Bedford, Boston, Beverly, Chatham, Falmouth, Hyannis, and Worcester.
• Rhode Island: Block Island, Westerly, Providence, Pawtucket, and Newport.
• New Jersey: Newark and Teterboro.
• Connecticut: Bridgeport, New Haven, and Groton.
• New York: Islip.
While snowstorms are often referred to as blizzards when severe conditions occur, there are strict criteria that must occur to meet true blizzard conditions.
A blizzard is defined as a storm that brings sustained winds or wind gusts of 35 mph or greater and a visibility less than one-quarter of a mile for three consecutive hours.
Views of the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, on Monday Feb. 23, 2026. (Image: NJ DOT)
Statewide travel restrictions will continue until noon Monday as blizzard conditions persist across New Jersey.
“New Jersey, we’re still in the middle of a historic storm,” Gov. Mikie Sherrill said.
A state of emergency remains in place for all 21 counties.
“Blizzard conditions, heavy snowfall and strong winds are creating extremely dangerous travel conditions,” Sherrill said. “Please stay off the roads.”
NJ TRANSIT rail, bus, light rail and Access Link services remain suspended until further notice.
NJ DOT cameras show that, for the most part, residents are complying with the travel ban on the Garden State Parkway, and the snow-covered roads are largely clear.
Millions across the Northeast are waking up to intense winds and heavy snow as a bomb cyclone churns just off the coast. NOAA’s GOES-East satellite captured the storm shortly after sunrise Monday, with the center about 200 miles southeast of New York City.
The heaviest snow is now focused just south of Boston, including much of Rhode Island. Blowing snow and strong winds are pushing visibility toward zero, making travel extremely dangerous.
More than 500,000 customers are waking up without power, some with feet of snow at their doorsteps, after a massive nor’easter delivered blizzard conditions to millions.
After a night of heavy snow and winds up to 60 mph, snow is forecast to continue through Monday after the storm strengthened into a bomb cyclone.
Snow totals in parts of New Jersey have surpassed a foot and are continuing to climb.
Travel is at a standstill across the I-95 corridor, with travel bans in place across the tri-state area.
As a blizzard continues to sweep through the Northeast region of the U.S., many officials including New York Governor Kathy Hochul urge residents to stay indoors amid dangerous conditions.
AccuWeather Storm Chaser Jaden Pappenheim and AccuWeather Correspondetn Ali Reid are reporting from Plymouth, Massachusetts, where a major nor’easter is slamming the coast with extreme winds, powerful waves and heavy snow. Power is out in Plymouth County for more than 30,000 customers.
A statewide travel ban is now in effect in New Jersey as conditions continue to deteriorate along the Jersey Shore. AccuWeather field teams have reported blizzard conditions in parts of the region. Here's how long this must continue to become an official blizzard.
In neighboring New York, a travel ban for all non-essential vehicles is also in place in New York City through noon Monday.
Power outages across New Jersey are increasing into the night, with the highest numbers reported in Atlantic, Ocean and Monmouth counties.
Jersey City officials reported a significant spike in outages Sunday night, particularly in the Heights neighborhood.
AccuWeather Storm Chaser Aaron Jayjack reports that snow is falling at rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour in Hazlet, New Jersey.
On the shore in Keyport, Jayjack said snowfall rates are closer to 2 inches per hour with several inches on the ground and about 20 more in the forecast.
"We are definitely getting the blizzard of 2026 right here now, guys. Big time blizzard happening tonight and tomorrow," Jayjack said.
Meanwhile, more than 100 snowplows are deployed across the Monmouth County townships as crews work to clear heavy snow that is forecast to continue through the night.
Travel is effectively shut down across the tri-state area through Monday.
Between Sunday and Monday, more than 8,000 flights have been canceled due to this massive winter storm. The majority of those cancellations are scheduled for Monday, with more than 5,000 flights halted and counting.
On the roads, travel restrictions are in place in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut through Monday morning.
NJ TRANSIT will suspend all bus, rail and Access Link service at 9 p.m. Sunday. The MTA Long Island Rail Road will suspend all service at 1 a.m. Monday.
An Airbus A321 Delta Airlines passenger aircraft is seen at gate while a Boeing 737 MAX 8 United Airlines passenger aircraft takes off at LaGuardia Airport in New York on February 22, 2026. A fast-developing storm is threatening to pummel the US East Coast with a foot or more of snow beginning Sunday. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)
AccuWeather Storm Chaser Aaron Rigsby is in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where big snowflakes and blowing wind are limiting visibility on the roads.
Travel restrictions are in place from 9 p.m. Sunday until 7 a.m. Monday.
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly reports winds are gusting around 40 mph on the coast, with the most intense weather still to come.
“The combination of winds and snow will lead to rapidly deteriorating conditions,” the NWS said. “If you don't need to travel tonight into tomorrow morning, please stay home!”
Snow is falling across most of New Jersey, with the heaviest snowfall happening overnight and Monday morning. Some areas will see snowfall rates of 2 inches or more per hour.
Beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday, highway speed limits were reduced to 35 mph across all New Jersey interstate and state highways, including the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway.
AccuWeather reporters and storm chasers are in position across the Northeast as the first round of snow begins to fall on Sunday evening.
AccuWeather team coverage across the forecast blizzard area in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee are the latest state leaders on the eastern seaboard to issue emergency declarations as blizzard conditions are forecast from the Mid-Atlantic to New England.
McKee issued a commercial travel ban and driving ban starting Sunday evening.
FILE PHOTO: A roller coaster sits in the Atlantic Ocean after the Fun Town pier it sat on was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy on November 1, 2012 in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
As the forecast worsens for the Jersey Shore, with wind gusts up to 65 mph, coastal flooding and blizzard conditions, some residents are wondering whether this storm could rival the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
AccuWeather meteorologists say the short answer is no.
“Hurricane Sandy was a different animal,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Scott Homan said, explaining that Sandy brought wind gusts up to 95 mph, persistent and prolonged easterly winds and a landfalling system that combined to produce catastrophic coastal flooding, major beach loss and widespread structural damage.
With this storm, the wind direction will be different and more variable.
“In this instance winds will be from the east for a time, then turn northeast and eventually northwest as the storm moves to the northeast toward New England,” Homan said.
Wind gusts could reach 60 mph along the coast, which is strong enough to cause beach erosion, pockets of coastal flooding and scattered power outages as heavy snow combines with gusty winds.
However, forecasters say this setup lacks the prolonged onshore wind and direct landfall component that made Sandy so destructive.
“But in recent history it seems many coastal storms no matter the strength bringing an easterly fetch causes flooding and beach erosion,” Homan said.
While impacts are expected to be significant, especially for travel and coastal communities, this blizzard is not forecast to produce the same level of storm surge and structural devastation seen during Sandy.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has issued a city-wide travel ban beginning at 9 p.m. Sunday and running through noon Monday. There are some exceptions for essential workers.
And for the first time since 2019, New York City students will have their first "old school" snow day with no remote learning and all schools closed.
"To kid across New York City, you have a very serious mission, if you choose to accept it: Stay cozy," Mamdani said.
As of Sunday morning, the AccuWeather Snow Accumulation Forecast includes these snow totals for this impressive storm:
Up to 2 feet for parts ofâ¯Long Islandâ¯and theâ¯Cape
12-18 inches for Boston
10-14 inches for New York Cityâ¯and Philadelphia
3-6 inches for Baltimore
1-3 inches for Washington, D.C.
Storm chaser Aaron Rigsby was in Middletown, New Jersey, ahead of a blockbuster blizzard expected to impact coastal Northeast cities from Sunday night into Monday with double-digit snowfall totals.
AccuWeather Storm Chaser Aaron Rigsby explains how he plans to cover the impacts for this blockbuster storm that will impact major cities, including Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
The big picture is that residents in the Northeast under Blizzard Warnings should plan to stay home. Heavy snowfall rates between 2 and 4 inches per hour are possible across parts of Long Island.
Rigsby said this storm came "together at the last minute" and caught some people off guard. Stores in the New York and New Jersey metro areas were packed on Saturday and early Sunday.
Just as weeks-old dirty snow piles finally melted, about 40 million people from Delaware through New England are bracing for significant snowfall.
The brunt of this powerful storm is set to arrive along the East Coast Sunday afternoon into Sunday night.
Here’s a look at the timing in AccuWeather’s exclusive forecast: Snow begins in Philadelphia around 1 p.m., and by 4 p.m., flakes will spread from the Jersey Shore to New York City.
Boston enters the storm later in the evening, with heavy snowfall developing after 7 p.m. By Sunday night, the system will crawl up the coast, bringing snow and strong winds to Portland, Maine.
State and local leaders are taking this major winter storm seriously, issuing emergency declarations and activating emergency operations centers well ahead of the first impacts.
All of New Jersey is under a blizzard warning. Gov. Mike Sherrill declared a state of emergency for all 21 counties beginning at noon Sunday.
One of the biggest concerns with this strengthening nor’easter — forecast to become a bomb cyclone — is the combination of damaging winds and blinding snow.
Travel could become nearly impossible at times. Wind gusts up to 70 mph are expected through Monday and may lead to widespread power outages affecting millions.
Blizzard conditions could also slow power restoration efforts. Anyone in the storm’s path should prepare extra supplies and be ready for deteriorating conditions by Sunday afternoon.
If the power goes out, here are steps to stay warm and safe.
