Feb. 24, 2026 — Northeast United States Winter Storm Hernando, a historic bomb cyclone, paralyzed the region from New York City to New England between February 22 and 24 with up to 3 feet of snow, widespread power outages impacting up to 400,000 customers, more than 10,000 flight cancellations at hubs like JFK, LGA, EWR and BOS, and a New York City travel ban lifted after noon on February 23.
Providence, Rhode Island, recorded 37.9 inches of snow, among the highest totals, while areas across New York and Massachusetts saw more than 2 feet. The storm prompted blizzard warnings for about 40 million people, with gusts reaching 80 mph in some spots, according to ABC News.
Major impacts included school closures, road shutdowns and disrupted travel, as reported by Reuters. New York City’s first blizzard warning in a decade forced millions to stay home, per AP News.
Live coverage from CNN, ABC News and The New York Times tracked the storm’s progression, including visuals of heavy snow in NYC and its exit as a bomb cyclone. NPR noted lingering chaos even after travel bans were lifted.
Social media reflected the storm’s severity, with high-engagement X posts sharing videos of the NYC travel ban and over 5,000 cancellations. The BBC highlighted historic conditions and outages. A Wikipedia entry was recently updated with totals and impacts.
