February 24, 2026 — Northeastern United States
A powerful nor’easter, known as the February 2026 North American blizzard, struck the Northeast from Maryland to Maine on February 22-23, dumping 2 to 3 feet of snow in parts of New England and the Mid-Atlantic region. The storm triggered blizzard warnings for over 40 million people, travel bans in New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, states of emergency in seven states including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, thousands of flight cancellations, and power outages affecting more than 600,000 customers.
The bomb cyclone produced extreme conditions with winds gusting to 98 mph (158 km/h) at Wellfleet, Massachusetts, thundersnow, and coastal flooding. Snowfall shattered records, including 32.8 inches (83 cm) in Providence, Rhode Island; 36.2 inches in Warwick, Rhode Island as reported by the Washington Post; 29.5 inches (75 cm) in Babylon, New York; and 27.9 inches (71 cm) in Carlstadt, New Jersey.
“Potentially the worst storm in 30 years—stay off the roads.”
— New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill
Approximately 8,000 flights were canceled over the two days, with nearly 1,000 at New York-area airports including JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark, according to Wikipedia’s compilation. Amtrak canceled over 30 trains, and two fatalities were reported in Maryland from a tree falling on a car.
The storm ranks among the worst since the 1996 Northeast blizzard, with New York City receiving its first blizzard warning since 2017. Live updates from the New York Times described record accumulations slamming New England as night fell on February 23.
New York City saw heavy snow, potentially placing it among the top 10 worst storms in 150 years. CNN reported travel bans in five states amid over 2 feet of snow. Power outages peaked at over 511,000 by morning of February 23, per Associated Press coverage.
