Historic Blizzard Blankets Northeast With Up to 3 Feet of Snow

A historic bomb cyclone dropped up to 37.9 inches of snow on the Northeast, breaking century-old records. Experts link the storm's intensity to human-driven climate change.

A historic bomb cyclone has buried the U.S. Northeast under record-breaking snowfall, with some areas receiving up to three feet and Providence, Rhode Island, reporting an astounding 37.9 inches at T.F. Green Airport . The total surpasses the previous all-time snowstorm record of 28.6 inches set during the Blizzard of '78 and exceeds Providence's average seasonal snowfall of 34.7 inches.

More than 40 million people were under blizzard warnings Monday as the storm brought hurricane-force wind gusts up to 60 mph, whiteout conditions, and near-zero visibility. Warwick, Rhode Island, recorded 36 inches, while Berkley and Somerset, Massachusetts, reported 31 inches. Central Islip, New York, also tallied 31 inches.

The storm's fury left over 608,000 homes and businesses without power across the region, with Massachusetts bearing the brunt of outages. Transportation ground to a halt, with more than 7,400 flights canceled and commuter rail systems from New Jersey Transit to the Long Island Rail Road suspending operations. New York City public schools closed for the first time since 2019.

States of emergency were declared across seven states, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The National Guard was activated to assist with emergency response.

Scientists at ClimaMeter attribute the storm's exceptional intensity to human-driven climate change, noting that similar winter storms now produce up to 20% more precipitation due to warmer air holding more moisture. Under near-freezing conditions, this additional moisture translates into substantially heavier snowfall.