Bomb Cyclone Delivers Record Snowfall, Widespread Disruption Across US Northeast

A powerful nor'easter intensified into a bomb cyclone, bringing severe weather to the northeastern United States between Sunday, February 22, and Tuesday, February 24, 2026. The storm underwent explosive strengthening, a process known as bombogenesis, which was driven by a significant drop in central pressure that fueled hurricane-force wind gusts along the coastline. The system's intensity, swirling southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, approached that of a Category 2 hurricane, delivering heavy, wet snow and powerful winds across large sections of the region.

The rapid intensification of the storm was marked by a pressure drop of approximately 40 millibars within a 24-hour period, creating extreme conditions. Coastal Massachusetts experienced hurricane-force gusts, with Nantucket reporting a peak wind gust of 83 miles per hour. This combination of high winds and heavy precipitation resulted in treacherous travel conditions, prompting utility spokespersons to estimate that power restoration efforts could require between 72 to 120 hours in the most impacted areas.

Snowfall accumulations reached historic levels throughout the region. Providence, Rhode Island, recorded 37.9 inches as of Monday evening, establishing a new all-time single-storm record for the city and surpassing the previous record of 28.6 inches set during the 1978 Blizzard. Other significant accumulations included 41 inches in Fall River, Massachusetts, and 31 inches in Central Islip, New York, burying regional infrastructure under feet of snow.

The resulting paralysis affected transportation and utility sectors across the Northeast megalopolis, a region home to over 40 million residents. At its peak, reports indicated over 600,000 power outages across the East Coast, with Massachusetts accounting for nearly 290,000 of those incidents. Furthermore, more than 10,000 flights were canceled across major East Coast hubs, including Boston Logan International Airport, which saw nearly 98% of departing flights canceled at one point. States from New York through Rhode Island declared states of emergency to manage the crisis.

As recovery operations commenced on Tuesday, February 24, officials prioritized the restoration of critical transportation links and essential services. In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani oversaw the lifting of a previously enacted travel ban while addressing the public discourse regarding the scheduled resumption of in-person schooling for Tuesday. The system, which brought the first major blizzard to much of the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coasts in approximately four years, was characterized by the National Weather Service as resulting from frigid Arctic air clashing with warmer temperatures, creating conditions ideal for heavy, wet snow.