Feb. 23, 2026 — Northeast U.S. A powerful nor’easter, known as Winter Storm Hernando or the Blizzard of 2026, is slamming the region from New Jersey to Massachusetts and into New England with up to 2 feet of heavy, wet snow, wind gusts reaching 84 mph, and power outages affecting more than 600,000 customers.
The storm has triggered thousands of flight cancellations—over 5,300 nationwide with more than 2,500 in the New York area alone—travel bans in multiple states, road closures, school shutdowns, and coastal flooding, as detailed in the NBC News live blog.
Massachusetts reports nearly 300,000 customers without power, the hardest hit state, while New Jersey has 135,000-plus outages. Blizzard warnings stretch over 600 miles along the East Coast, affecting more than 40 million people from DelMarVa to New England. New York City has seen 15 inches in Central Park, 16-19 inches citywide, and up to 24 inches in parts of Staten Island and New Jersey, according to New York Times updates.
“This is a serious storm, and there are dangerous road conditions out there, especially on the South Coast. We have reports of abandoned and stuck cars on the roads, and tow trucks are having difficulty getting to them.”
— Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey
States including New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut have declared emergencies with commercial vehicle bans. New York City lifted its travel ban at noon but urged residents to avoid roads. Philadelphia saw 13.7 inches at its airport, with 92% of flights canceled there, per BBC coverage.
The bomb cyclone has downed power lines, toppled trees, and caused overturned vehicles, with Orleans, Massachusetts, nearly 100% without power. The Wikipedia entry notes two fatalities amid the impacts.
“Though the travel ban has lifted, conditions on the road are still icy and dangerous, and we encourage New Yorkers to take public transportation if needed, stay indoors when possible and stay informed through Notify NYC.”
— New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani
Live coverage from CNN, AP News, USA Today, CBS News, and Weather.com tracks ongoing developments, including snow rates of 3-4 inches per hour reported by weather spotters on X.
