Millions dig out from the deadly 2026 blizzard as records fall, including 37.9" in Rhode Island. With 2 dead and 375,000 without power, recovery begins even as a new clipper system threatens more snow this week. Follow live travel and power updates.
Covered by: Mike Rawlins, Julian Atienza, Angela Fortuna and Kieran Sullivan
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Vermont Agency of Transportation dispatched a convoy made up of 32 workers from around the Green Mountain State to assist snow-removal efforts in Massachusetts, one of the states hit hardest by the historic nor’easter that slammed the Northeast.
The team took 12-full sized plow trucks, 12 bucket loaders, 7 pick-up trucks equipped with plows, a half-ton pickup, a van and two maintenance mechanic vehicles.
In a post on X, Vermont Agency of Transportation wrote, “We are always glad to help our neighbors. That is the Vermont way!”
Eversource said their crews are making significant progress restoring power to households in Massachusetts.
A large portion of Cape Cod is still without power, according to poweroutage.us. Over 123,000 homes, or roughly two-thirds of households, remain in the dark.
The electric company said they expect that nearly all customers affected by the blizzard will have power back by the end of Friday, with the vast majority of customers getting their power restored sooner.
While millions across the Northeast dig out from the most significant snowfall event in decades it’s important to remember to remove all the snow from your vehicle before hitting the road.
A car in New York City entirely covered in snow.
Depending on where you live, you might have to shovel for a bit longer. Take a look at this unlucky New Yorker, for example. Yes, that is a car under there.
To keep everyone safe on the roads, commuters returning to work Tuesday and drivers digging out from the historic storm should make sure to clear all snow from their vehicles.
Don’t let snow and ice put you, or others, in danger! Clear your car completely before hitting the road, or risk blocking your view and sending snow flying into other drivers’ paths.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on X that she has instructed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to continue monitoring the impacts of the historic nor’easter that buried several states in the Northeast under feet of snow.
Power outage tracker using data from poweroutage.com.
Over 200,000 still without power in Massachusetts and 190,000 are Eversource customers, according to data from poweroutage.com.
The utility company announced on X that over 185,000 customers have had power restored since the historic nor’easter smashed coastal areas across the state with hurricane-force winds and heavy snow.
“It’s an all-hands on deck effort, and we won’t stop working around the clock until the job is done.”
The New York City Department of Sanitation has issued a Winter Operations Advisory beginning at 3 a.m. Wednesday.
It’s because more snow is expected to fall in the area early in the morning. Parts of the state could get 1 to 3 inches of snow on top of what fell during the historic blizzard.
The sanitation department said their vehicles have been going nonstop to clear the snow, and they don’t plan to let up until the job is done.
More than 700 salt spreaders and specialized bike lane spreaders are filled and ready to go when needed. The department said even after spreading more than 150 million pounds of salt in the most recent storm, the department still has plenty of salt on hand.
A raging wildfire continues to spread in Collier County, Florida, in the Everglades after exploding in strength today and spreading over 25,000 acres.
The fire, coined the National Wildfire, is one of two that were discovered within the Big Cypress National Preserve on Sunday, according to the National Park Service.
The National Wildfire initially spread across 5,000 acres as ground and aviation crews worked to suppress the flames. It grew drastically in size by Tuesday.
Enhanced fire behavior is expected to continue until later this evening, with burn bans in effect for Collier, Palm Beach, Hendry and Glades counties.
Officials are warning of very dry air and surface winds that are aiding in the strength of the flames.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is urging everyone to stay home and off the roads despite the travel ban being lifted in Southeastern, Massachusetts.
Healey is advising residents to pay attention to local restrictions and parking bans, and drive carefully if you need to travel.
“Crews are out in full force clearing snow, and utilities are working around the clock to restore power. Let’s give them the space they need to get the job done safely and quickly,” Healey said on social media.
There are still over 230,000 households without power in the state of Massachusetts, with over 150,000 alone reported in Cape Cod, according to poweroutage.us.
On Monday night, the Newport Fire and Police Department responded to a parking lot to check on a person inside of a vehicle.
When they arrived they found Joseph Boutros, a 21-year-old student at Salve Regina University, unconscious inside the running vehicle while a cellphone was charging.
Nearly three feet of snow fell in Newport, burying streets and vehicles across the coastal town. Hurricane-force winds and with heavy snow rates, produced blizzard conditions that resulted in widespread power outages across the Rhode Island and the Northeast.
Officials from the Newport Police Department said the vehicle was covered in snow and the exhaust pipe was embedded in the snow.
Boutros was transported to the Newport Hospital emergency room, where he was pronounced dead due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
The New Port Police Department said in a press release, “This tragic incident was accidental and a reminder to be vigilant to keep exhaust pipes clear of snow and debris when vehicles are idling.”
Millions across the Northeast are barely beginning the monumental task of digging out from the historic Blizzard of 2026, but the atmosphere isn’t offering much of a break.
The FOX Forecast Center is tracking a fast-moving Alberta Clipper system that will dive out of the Great Lakes today, threatening to drop a fresh layer of snow across the region tonight through Wednesday.
This system is far less powerful than the record-shattering bomb cyclone that just exited, but it brings its own set of challenges for recovery efforts.
Snow showers will begin to spread across Upstate New York and Pennsylvania as the system pushes eastward. Light to moderate snow is expected to impact the morning commute for major hubs including Syracuse, Boston, and Portland.
Farther south in New York City and Philadelphia, temperatures may be just warm enough for snow to mix with rain, potentially creating a messy, slushy commute.
Latest snow forecast from FOX Weather showing 1 to 3 inches of accumulation through Wednesday for the Northeast.
The FOX Forecast Center says the heaviest accumulations with this clipper will be concentrated in the interior Northeast and downwind of the Great Lakes. A widespread swath of 1 to 3 inches is forecast from Central Pennsylvania through Upstate New York and into much of New England.
Higher elevations in Vermont, New Hampshire, and the Maine mountains could see slightly higher totals (3-5 inches) as the system picks up moisture.
While 1 to 3 inches would normally be a minor event, it carries higher stakes today. In cities like Providence and Islip, where 30+ inches of snow are already on the ground, any additional accumulation makes clearing drains and widening narrow, snow-walled streets even more difficult.
Montauk, New York tree bows under the weight of heavy, wet snow following the Blizzard of 2026.
Latest power outage tracker showing more than 374,000 customers without power in the Northeast.
The aftermath of the historic Blizzard of 2026 has left a staggering 374,000 customers without power. Massachusetts remains the hardest-hit area, accounting for approximately 239,000 of those outages, with coastal communities like Barnstable on Cape Cod reporting that over 86% of the county lost electricity during the height of the storm.
Utility crews from National Grid and Eversource are currently scrambling to repair lines brought down by “gorilla glue” snow and hurricane-force wind gusts, but deep snowdrifts and frozen equipment are significantly hindering these recovery efforts.
The restoration timeline is under increasing pressure as a new Alberta Clipper system targets the region for Wednesday morning. This incoming system is expected to drop an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow across a broad swath from Pennsylvania through New England, with lake-enhanced totals of 5 to 8 inches possible in parts of New York.
Forecasters warn that even this lighter accumulation, combined with bitter cold and blustery winds, could create new hazards for line workers and potentially trigger fresh outages on already weakened infrastructure.
Some utility companies estimate it could take three to five days to fully restore power in the hardest-hit zones due to hazardous travel and limited access to damaged substations.
Satellite video shows snow blanketing the Northeast after the recent blizzard brought over 2 feet of snow to parts of the region.
Rhode Island’s statewide travel ban has been lifted.
Providence, Rhode Island, recorded 37.1 inches of snow, obliterating the 28.6 inches set during the Blizzard of 1978 — the previous benchmark.
Delta has released a statement saying that flights are resuming across LaGuardia and JFK airports in New York, as well as Boston Logan International.
International flights bound for New York are also expected to land later Tuesday.
“Some international flights departed for JFK this morning and are planned to land after 12 p.m. ET. Customers traveling at other airports across the Northeast region should continue to monitor their flight status in the Delta app or on delta.com for the most up to date information.”
While the Northeast is still catching its breath from the record-shattering “Blizzard of 2026,” long-range computer models are already whispering about another potential system for the first week of March.
This early signal has prompted some to look ahead with caution, as several runs of the Global Forecast System and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) models depict disturbances tracking toward the region during the first days of March.
GFS and ECMWF computer forecast models showing the threat for snow in the Northeast during the first week of March.
However, the FOX Forecast Center is urging residents to take these long-range projections with a grain of salt… for now.
Forecasters emphasize that confidence in the timing and exact impact of these hazards remains low this far out. That’s because weather forecasting is a balancing act of data, physics, and probability. When meteorologists look at a potential storm a week or more in advance, they are navigating several scientific hurdles that make high-confidence predictions nearly impossible.
The atmosphere is a chaotic system where tiny, unmeasured changes in initial conditions—like wind or humidity—can spiral into vastly different outcomes days later. Because computer models must rely on assumptions rather than future data, even minor errors in today’s observations cause long-range forecasts to become increasingly unreliable the further out they go.
While there is a risk of heavy snow for parts of the interior Northeast and New England early next week, the overall pattern is shifting toward a more progressive flow that could favor milder air for the coastal I-95 corridor. So while a storm may roll through the region, the warmer air could mean more rain, or a wintry mix, than snow.
For now, FOX Weather meteorologists say “keep watching” as the team tracks the storm and works to determine its impacts in the days ahead.
Two runways are now available at Boston Logan International Airport, with full operations expected to be restored by Wednesday morning.
Ed Freni, Executive Director of Aviation for the Massachusetts Port Authority, joined FOX Weather Meteorologists Stephen Morgan and Marissa Torres on Weather Command to share the latest update.
Governor Mikie Sherrill said more than 90 percent of customers who lost power are back online. More than 360,000 were without electricity at the height of the storm — more outages than in any storm in recent years, concentrated mostly along the Jersey shore.
Sherrill said the state of emergency will likely last through Wednesday.
Governor Kathy Hochul responded after NYPD officers were pelted by snowballs during an incident in New York City’s Washington Square Park in Lower Manhattan on Monday.
“Our NYPD officers put themselves on the line to protect us every day. It is never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer, full stop,” Hochul wrote on social media Tuesday.
A magnitude 3.0 earthquake shook the area just southeast of Cathcart, Washington around 5:40 a.m. local time.
Light shaking was felt in the nearby Seattle metro area, according to the USGS.
There’s been no word on the extent of any damage.
A striking satellite image from the GOES-19 satellite captures the sheer scale of the Blizzard of 2026 as it rapidly intensified into a powerful bomb cyclone off the East Coast.
The high-resolution view shows a classic comma-shaped storm system with a defined swirling eye, bringing hurricane-force wind gusts and heavy thundersnow to the Northeast.
A Ground Stop is currently in effect at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York as crews work to clear significant accumulations of snow and ice that have left the airport restricted to single-runway operations.
Ground Stops are used by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to hold planes from taking off to the airport under the stop. So if you’re flying to JFK this morning, chances are your flight is being held at its origin.
An official advisory from the FAA suggests that these operational constraints could continue throughout most of today as subfreezing temperatures make it difficult to keep even primary surfaces clear.
Approximately 40% of all scheduled flights at JFK have already been disrupted today. As of this morning, data shows at least 426 cancellations and 63 significant delays as airlines struggle to position aircraft and crews amid the limited runway capacity.
While some international and priority flights are still moving, travelers are strongly urged to check their flight status through their airline’s mobile app before attempting to head to the terminal.
Exclusive FOX Weather Model showing widespread light snow across the Northeast on Wednesday morning.
As the Northeast continues to dig out from the historic Blizzard of 2026, a new Alberta Clipper system is already diving out of the Great Lakes to threaten the region.
Snow showers are expected to spread across Upstate New York and Pennsylvania later today as the system pushes eastward. By Wednesday morning, light to moderate snow is forecast to impact the commute for major hubs including Syracuse, Boston, and Portland.
While this clipper is significantly less powerful than the recent bomb cyclone, it is expected to bring a fresh 1 to 3 inches of accumulation to a widespread swath from Central Pennsylvania through New England, including Boston.
Higher totals are possible in the interior Northeast and downwind of the Great Lakes, where lake-enhanced bands could drop 5 to 8 inches in parts of New York by Wednesday.
Farther south in New York City and Philadelphia, slightly warmer temperatures may result in a messy mix of snow and rain for the Wednesday morning commute.
The historic blizzard of 2026 has grounded more than 11,000 flights, leaving thousands of travelers searching for a way home. If your flight was among those scrubbed, airlines have issued travel waivers that allow you to rebook without the usual fees. Use this guide to understand your options and the specific deadlines for major carriers.
Understanding how waivers work
A travel waiver is a special policy issued during severe weather that allows you to change your flight for free, provided you meet certain criteria.
Rebooking deadlines by airline
Airlines have set different windows for when you must book your new flight and when that travel must be completed.
How to claim your refund
If your flight was canceled by the airline and you choose not to travel at all, you can request a full refund to your original form of payment.
The Blizzard of 2026 has officially moved into the cleanup phase, but a social media is lighting up over how New York City is bringing students back to the classroom today.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that all public schools are open for in-person learning today following Monday’s historic blizzard. This decision stands in sharp contrast to Boston, where Mayor Michelle Wu has opted to keep all public schools closed for a second day to ensure the safety of students and staff as crews widen roadways and clear sidewalks.
The move in New York has drawn pushback online from parents and local officials who argue that many neighborhood streets remain dangerous and impassable. While city officials say they are plowing and salting the streets, they acknowledged that driving and even walking will remain a challenge over the next couple of days from this historic storm.
Despite this, Mayor Mamdani has defended the reopening, jokingly telling students they can still “pelt him with snowballs” when they see him.
In Boston, Mayor Wu explained that schools will remain closed today so city teams can sufficiently clear sidewalks and widen main roadways for the district’s 700-bus fleet to maneuver safely. While Boston is managing a state of emergency and an active parking ban until at least 6 p.m. tonight, New York City officials noted that thousands of staff have been working around the clock to ensure school sidewalks are cleared down to the asphalt.
As New York City teachers and students navigate the first commute after the historic blizzard, the debate continues over whether reopening so quickly is a sign of resilience or a risk to public safety.
Mayor Mamdani has urged families to allow for extra travel time and to use their own judgment regarding safety, emphasizing that school officials have been working overtime to prepare buildings for the return of nearly 900,000 students.
Thousands of flights have been canceled today as airlines scramble to reset after the Blizzard of 2026.
The Blizzard of 2026 will go down as one of the most disruptive travel events of the year, turning the Northeast into a virtual “no-fly zone.” While travelers are eager to get moving again, the aviation industry is facing a logistical nightmare as it attempts to reset a system that saw more than 12,000 flights canceled between Sunday and Tuesday.
The sheer volume of grounded flights and delays has created a backlog that will take days, if not a full week, to resolve. Sunday saw over 4,000 flights scrapped, followed by a peak of more than 6,100 on Monday. Even though the snow has stopped, an additional 2,000+ flights were preemptively canceled for Tuesday to manage the recovery.
Beyond the outright cancellations, at least 12,750 flights have been delayed nationwide due to the domino effect that major hub closures have on the rest of the country.
Restarting an airline after a complete hub shutdown is a complex puzzle with three major pieces out of place:
Airports like JFK and Newark are facing subfreezing temperatures that have slowed de-icing throughput to a crawl. With limited ramp space and snow rates that repeatedly forced runway closures, the turnaround time for a single aircraft has nearly doubled, leading to further delays even after the sun has come out.
Airlines including Delta, United, and American have issued flexible rebooking waivers through the end of the month, but forecasters warn that with a new clipper system approaching on Wednesday, the path to a normal schedule remains incredibly narrow.
The Blizzard of 2026 earned its historic status not just through record-breaking snow, but through the sheer, violent power of its winds. As the storm bombed out off the coast, it intensified into a system comparable to a Category 1 hurricane, fueling gusts that approached 90 mph in the hardest-hit coastal communities.
While the entire Northeast corridor faced 40–60 mph winds, the immediate coastline saw truly extreme conditions that knocked weather stations offline:
Peak wind gusts from the Blizzard of 2026.
These hurricane-force winds, combined with heavy, wet snow, created a perfect storm for infrastructure damage. The wind load was so intense that it caused structural strain on buildings and snapped utility poles like toothpicks.
The historic Blizzard of 2026 has officially redefined winter intensity for the Northeast, leaving behind a trail of shattered records and staggering snow totals. Nowhere felt the brunt of the storm more than Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, where the three-foot mark wasn’t just a prediction—it became a reality.
Providence led the charge, recording a monumental 37.9 inches at T.F. Green International Airport, effectively crushing the legendary 1978 record by nearly 10 inches.
The Blizzard of 2026 will go down as the biggest snowstorm on record for the state of Rhode Island.
Across the border in Massachusetts, the “jackpot zone” shifted into Bristol and Plymouth counties, where totals officially crossed the 30-inch mark. Whitman emerged as a regional peak with a staggering 33.7 inches, while Dartmouth recorded a verified 33.0 inches of accumulation. These historic totals were driven by persistent mesoscale bands that dropped snow at rates of 3 to 4 inches per hour, completely burying neighborhoods and overwhelming local plowing operations.
Connecticut also saw its share of historic numbers, with North Stonington officially recording 30.8 inches, making it the hardest-hit area in the state.
While the storm has finally pulled away, the shear volume of snow—compounded by hurricane-force wind gusts that created drifts twice as high as the flat accumulation—has left a recovery timeline that officials warn could last well into the weekend.
Courtesy: Franklin (MA) Fire Department
Hazardous dangling wires remain a significant threat after the Blizzard of 2026 knocked out power to hundreds of thousands. Fire officials are urging residents to treat all downed lines as live and extremely dangerous—watch the footage here to see the damage firsthand.
As the Northeast begins the massive dig-out from the Blizzard of 2026, thousands of residents are waking up in freezing homes with no electricity. At its peak on Monday, the bomb cyclone knocked out power to over 675,000 customers as hurricane-force wind gusts and heavy, wet snow snapped utility poles and brought down massive trees from Maryland to Maine.
While utility crews worked through the night, over 380,000 homes and businesses remain in the dark right now. The restoration process has been hampered by deep snowdrifts—exceeding 30 inches in parts of Rhode Island and Long Island—which have made many suburban and coastal roads impassable for heavy bucket trucks.
More than 384,000 homes and businesses remain without power this morning following the Blizzard of 2026.
Utility companies, including National Grid and Eversource, have deployed thousands of workers—some traveling from as far away as Ohio and Virginia—to assist in the recovery. However, officials in Connecticut and Massachusetts warned that due to the sheer volume of snow and debris, full restoration in some remote or heavily damaged areas could take four to six days.
Residents are urged to stay at least 30 feet away from downed lines and to use extreme caution with portable generators to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
Amtrak Advisory website showing service changes on Tuesday morning.
The dig-out phase of the historic 2026 blizzard is proving to be a logistical nightmare for rail travel. Despite the storm exiting the region overnight, Amtrak has already canceled at least 39 trains scheduled for Tuesday morning as crews struggle to clear tracks and reset equipment.
The service cuts are hitting the Northeast Corridor the hardest, with major suspensions remaining in place between Boston South Station and New York Moynihan Train Hall. Passengers are also seeing significant disruptions on routes between New York and Philadelphia.
Beyond full cancellations, local transit agencies like NJ Transit have warned that their own resumptions are contingent on Amtrak completing work to clear snow from critical track switches that remain frozen.
19.7″ at Central Park makes the Blizzard of 2026 the 9th largest snowstorm on record for New York City.
The Blizzard of 2026 has officially secured its place in the New York City record books. After a day of relentless snow and whiteout conditions, the National Weather Service confirmed that 19.7 inches of snow fell in Central Park. This staggering total makes the storm the 9th largest snowfall ever recorded in the city since record-keeping began in 1869.
See how the Blizzard of 2026 evolved with FOX Weather’s LIVE Winter Storm HQ coverage from Monday.
Click here to see the minute-by-minute updates.
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