February 24, 2026 — Northeast U.S. A powerful nor’easter, named Winter Storm Hernando by The Weather Channel or the Blizzard of 2026, struck from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts starting February 22, dumping record snowfall up to 36+ inches in Rhode Island, hurricane-force winds with gusts near 100 mph, power outages impacting over 600,000 customers, thousands of flight cancellations, and travel bans across the region.
The storm rapidly intensified into a bomb cyclone, paralyzing New York, Boston, and Philadelphia while southeastern New England saw 2 to 3 feet of snow, according to The Washington Post.
Providence, Rhode Island, shattered its all-time single-storm snowfall record with 32.8 inches, surpassing the 1978 Blizzard’s 28.6 inches over two days, as covered by The New York Times and NBC News. Warwick, R.I., measured 36.2 inches, while Westport, Mass., got 36 inches CBS News Boston.
More than 10,000 flights were canceled and travel halted from Delaware to New England, with USA Today and NPR reporting on school closures and cleanup challenges. The Associated Press explained the extreme snowfall stemmed from ideal “Goldilocks” meteorological conditions.
Quogue, N.Y., saw 23.5 inches, Islip more than 2 feet, and New York City up to 19 inches, per various reports. AccuWeather shared satellite views highlighting the Providence record.
The event dominated headlines, affecting over 40 million people amid ongoing recovery efforts.
