Feb. 24, 2026 — Northeast U.S. A powerful nor’easter, known as the Blizzard of 2026, struck on February 23, dumping a record 32.8 inches of snow at T.F. Green International Airport in Providence, Rhode Island—surpassing the 1978 blizzard record—with hurricane-force wind gusts up to 84 mph in Montauk, New York, over 650,000 power outages, travel bans including a full ban in New York City, and more than 9,000 flight cancellations nationwide since Sunday.
The storm, described by meteorologists as a bomb cyclone with ideal “Goldilocks” conditions for heavy, wet snow, affected over 40 million people from Delaware to Massachusetts. Providence’s snowfall broke the previous single-storm record of 28.6 inches, while other areas saw significant accumulations: 26.5 inches at Islip Airport on Long Island, 24.2 inches in Freehold, New Jersey, and more than 15 inches in New York City, according to the National Weather Service.
“The storm hit the ‘Goldilocks situation’ of just the right temperature for wet, heavy snow — any warmer and its precipitation wouldn’t have fallen as snow. Any colder and there wouldn’t have been as much moisture in the air to feed that snowfall,” said Owen Shieh, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Power outages peaked above 650,000 customers, worst in Massachusetts (nearly 300,000), New Jersey (135,000+), and Delaware (75,000+). Utilities like PSEG in New Jersey reported crews working around the clock amid wet snow and high winds.
FOX Weather video showing impacts of outages from the blizzard.
Travel disruptions were severe, with New York City lifting its ban at noon on Feb. 24 but warning of icy roads. Massachusetts maintained bans on Cape Cod and the South Coast for non-essential travel. New Jersey extended restrictions until noon. Nearly 9,000 flights were canceled, including thousands at JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, and Boston Logan airports, per FlightAware.
States of emergency were declared in New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Officials urged caution with “heart attack snow.”
“This is a serious storm, and there are dangerous road conditions out there,” said Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.
The storm drew comparisons to 2016’s Winter Storm Jonas and other historic events, with thundersnow reported.
