Feb. 24, 2026 — Northeast U.S. A powerful nor’easter classified as a bomb cyclone battered the region from Maryland to Maine on Monday, dumping up to 3 feet of snow in areas like Warwick, Rhode Island, canceling more than 5,600 flights, causing power outages for over 600,000 customers and prompting widespread travel bans affecting more than 40 million people.
Blizzard warnings covered the densely populated corridor, with Rhode Island’s Providence recording a record-breaking 32.8 inches of snow, surpassing the 1978 mark of 28.6 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Other records included 29.1 inches in Islip, New York, and heavy accumulations across New Jersey (27.1 inches in Newark), New York City (up to 24.1 inches in Staten Island) and eastern Massachusetts. Winds gusted to 70 mph, creating whiteout conditions and coastal flooding.
States including New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Connecticut declared emergencies, while governors issued non-essential travel bans. New York City enacted its first such ban in over a decade, lifted at noon Monday but with hazardous conditions persisting, per NBC News updates. Massachusetts banned non-essential travel in multiple counties including Cape Cod, where nearly 300,000 customers lost power—85% in Barnstable County—and deployed 200 National Guard members for recovery.
“Totals in many places the state have already exceeded 2 feet… This is a serious storm, and there are dangerous road conditions,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said, according to the BBC.
Flight disruptions were severe, with 98% of departures canceled at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, 91% at JFK and high rates at Newark, Boston Logan and Philadelphia International, per FlightAware data cited by BBC. Public transit faced delays or shutdowns, schools closed across New York City, Boston and Philadelphia (many remote on Tuesday), and roads remained treacherous with over 80 accidents in Connecticut alone.
Power restoration efforts continued into Tuesday, particularly in Massachusetts and New Jersey (135,000 outages). No deaths were reported, though minor injuries occurred in crashes. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani noted, “The worst has passed… accumulated snowfall and refreezing have made it hazardous to travel.”
The storm, intensifying rapidly off the New Jersey coast, brought snowfall rates of 2-3 inches per hour at peak, per NWS. Recovery focuses on plowing, power restoration and transit resumption as lighter snow tapered off late Monday.
