CIRA Satellite Library

A historic winter storm brought record-breaking snowfall and blizzard conditions to the Northeast US in late February 2026.

On February 22, 2026, a nor’easter began moving northward along the East Coast of the US. The forceful storm brought with it heavy snowfall and strong winds, which prompted blizzard warnings to be issued all along the coastal areas of the Northeast US. Those warnings included major cities such as Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia.

By the next morning, the strengthening nor’easter had turned into a bomb cyclone when its center dropped an estimated 41 millibars of pressure in 24 hours. Lightning strikes were observed within the intensifying storm, a winter weather phenomena known as thundersnow. One such instance was reported over New York City during the early morning hours of February 23.

The Blizzard of 2026 continued to batter the East Coast through the rest of February 23, eventually pulling away to the east the next day. As snowfall totals came in from the historic nor’easter, states across the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions were reporting multiple feet of snow accumulation.

The hardest hit area was southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where the highest amounts of snow were reported. In Providence, the capital and largest city of Rhode Island, 37.9 inches (96.3 cm) of snow fell from the nor’easter, beating the old record set during a previous historic blizzard. The storm also brought over 29 inches (73.6 cm) of snow to New York City, 17.1 inches (43.4 cm) to Boston, and 14 inches (35.5 cm) to Philadelphia. The state of New Jersey also saw widespread high snow totals, receiving up to two and a half feet of snow in some areas.

For some locations, the Blizzard of 2026 was the biggest winter storm on record, beating out snowfall totals set during the infamous Blizzard of 1978. The 1978 nor’easter also delivered some of its heaviest snow to Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and resulted in the deaths of nearly one hundred people.

For more forecast details, visit the National Weather Service. For snowfall totals during the Blizzard of 2026, visit CoCoRahs.