Millions of residents in the north-eastern United States were confined to their homes on Monday as a powerful blizzard brought heavy snow and strong winds, causing whiteout conditions, grounding flights, and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
By Monday evening, nearly 38 inches of snow had fallen at Rhode Island’s TF Green International Airport, breaking the previous single-storm record of 28.6 inches set in 1978, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Snowfall totals in 21 cities and towns across New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts reached at least two feet, accompanied by wind gusts exceeding 30 mph and low visibility.
Blizzard warnings affected 40 million people from Maryland to Maine. New York City, Rhode Island, and New Jersey imposed travel bans for non-emergency vehicles. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order banning non-essential travel in three counties and requested additional resources from neighbouring states like Vermont and New York to assist with clearing efforts.
The storm caused widespread power outages, leaving nearly 700,000 customers without electricity along the east coast by late Monday morning, including 130,000 in New Jersey and over 272,000 in Massachusetts by Monday night. Emergencies were declared in New York, Philadelphia, and several states from Delaware to Massachusetts.
Almost 6,000 flights in and out of the US were cancelled, primarily in New York, New Jersey, and Boston. Public transit in New York continued to operate with delays and service changes, while crews focused on clearing elevated and outdoor tracks. The NWS warned that blizzard conditions would persist along the north-eastern seaboard into early Tuesday, with sharply reduced visibility making travel extremely treacherous.
The storm began to move away from New England on Monday evening, with snowfall rates expected to decrease below one inch per hour after sunset, though lingering snow and strong winds would continue to create hazardous conditions.
