NEW YORK (AP) – A massive snowstorm pummeled the northeast United States from Maryland to Maine on Monday, forcing millions of people to stay home amid strong wind and blizzard warnings, transportation shutdowns, and school and business closures.
The storm dumped up to 2 feet of snow in parts of the metropolitan northeast as accumulations from an earlier snowfall had just melted away — except for gray mountainous piles in parking lots and along the side of roads. Officials declared emergencies from Delaware to Massachusetts, and hundreds of thousands of people grappled with power failure from downed electrical lines.
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R.I. Gov. Daniel J. McKee on Sunday declared a state of emergency and said he expects up to 150,000 electricity customers to lose power during the storm. As of 3:57 p.m. Monday, Rhode Island Energy reported 39,964 customers without power. Some Rhode Island customers could be without power for several days, according to Rhode Island Energy.
Snow fell at a rate of 2 to 3 inches an hour early Monday from New York through Massachusetts. Some areas have gotten well over a foot of snow since Sunday, along with wind gusts of over 30 mph and low visibility.
Snowfall totals piled up Monday. Rhode Island T.F Green International Airport received 32.8 inches of snow as of 1 p.m. According to report by WPRI-TV CBS 12 that amount surpassed the “Blizzard of ’78” which dumped 26 inches of snow in Providence.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said the Rhode Island Congressional delegation have asked President Donald Trump to declare an emergency federal declaration for the state.
In New York, Long Island MacArthur Airport reported 22.5 inches of snow as of Monday morning. Parts of New York City had accumulations in the mid- to high teens, with Coney Island getting 16 inches. Freehold, N.J., had 22 inches.
In Mystic, Conn., where at least 2 feet of snow has fallen so far, crews at the Mystic Seaport Museum prepared to clear snow from a fleet of historic ships, including the 113-foot-long Charles W. Morgan, a wooden whaling ship from the 19th century American merchant fleet.
Shannon McKenzie, vice president of watercraft operations and preservation, said shipyard staff will clear the snow by hand using rubber or plastic shovels because machinery or metal shovels could damage the boats.
The National Weather Service called travel conditions “nearly impossible.”
Blizzard warnings stretched from Maryland to Maine. Cellphones across New York City received wailing push alerts Sunday night announcing a ban on non-emergency travel on all streets through noon Monday because of “dangerous blizzard conditions.” Rhode Island and New Jersey implemented similar restrictions.
More than 5,000 flights in and out of the United States were canceled for Monday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Most were canceled in New York, New Jersey and Boston.
All airlines at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport have cancelled all scheduled departing and arriving commercial flights through approximately 6:20 p.m. Monday, R.I. Airport Corp. spokesperson Bill Fischer said in an email. He added that Airport snow removal and operations teams are actively clearing the airfield. The airfield may reopen once visibility, wind, and surface conditions meet required operational thresholds, which could occur prior to any resumption of scheduled commercial service.
Public transit was suspended in some areas. Even DoorDash announced it was suspending deliveries in New York City overnight.
Storm-related power outages plunged more than 500,000 customers into darkness along the East Coast early Monday, including over 212,000 customers in Massachusetts and 128,000 customers in New Jersey, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.
About 10,000 customers were without power Monday morning on suburban Long Island. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said utility crews would restore power as soon as possible, but winds of 50 mph or higher could delay action.
Emergencies were declared in New York, Philadelphia and other cities, as well as several states stretching from Delaware to Massachusetts, including Rhode Island, as officials mobilized readiness efforts.
“The combination of heavy snowfall and strong winds will continue to produce blizzard conditions along the Northeastern Seaboard,” the weather service said Monday. “Sharply reduced visibility will make travel extremely treacherous across these areas.”
The weather service referred to the storm as a “classic bomb cyclone/nor’easter off the Northeast coast.” A bomb cyclone is when a storm drops at least 24 millibars in pressure in 24 hours.
Heaviest snow is falling and wind picking up
The weather service said the snow was expected to taper off by Monday afternoon.
New York City and Boston canceled public school classes for Monday, while Philadelphia will switch to online learning. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it the “first old-school snow day since 2019.”
“And to kids across New York City, you have a very serious mission if you choose to accept it: Stay cozy,” he said.
Meanwhile, outreach workers worked to coax homeless New Yorkers off the street and into shelters and warming centers.
Various landmarks and cultural institutions announced closures Monday, from New York’s Museum of Modern Art to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Broadway shows were canceled Sunday evening.
The weather service said the storm’s strong wind gusts could cause whiteout conditions and warned of a “Potentially Historic/Destructive Storm” southeast of the Boston-Providence corridor.
“Winds like that, combined with heavy, wet snow, are a recipe for damaged trees and prolonged power outages,” said Bryce Williams, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Boston office. “That’s what we’re most concerned with, is the combination of those extreme snow amounts with that wind.”
Shovelers recruited for major snow clearing
In addition to their robust plow operations, New York City officials recruited people to shovel snow, with some beginning work Sunday night to get an early start on the first wave of snowfall, Mamdani said.
John Berlingieri scrapped plans for a family trip to Puerto Rico. Instead he was preparing his company, Berrington Snow Management, for what could well be a mammoth task: Clearing snow from millions of square feet (meters) of asphalt surrounding shopping malls and industrial parks across Long Island.
Employees spent the last few days recharging batteries on the company’s 40 front-end loaders and replacing windshield wipers on snow-removal vehicles.
“I’m anticipating at least one week of work around the clock,” Berlingieri said. “We’re going to work 24 to 36 hours straight, sleep for a few hours and then go back.”
(UPDATE: Adds more detail and power outage numbers in Rhode Island and region.)
(Providence Business News contributed to this report.)
