Snow Totals Soar as Bomb Cyclone Dumps Over 3 Feet in Parts of the Northeast

The Northeast was paralyzed on Monday as a powerful nor'easter produced staggering snow totals and hurricane-force winds, forcing millions to stay home and shutting down transportation and schools. The timing matters because the National Weather Service is already tracking another system that could bring additional snow later this week.

Snow Totals: Warwick, Rhode Island, Tops the Nation

Measurements showed Central Park received 19 inches (48 centimeters) of snow while Warwick, Rhode Island, exceeded 3 feet (91 centimeters), topping the nation so far. Parts of the metropolitan Northeast saw more than 2 feet (60 centimeters) of accumulation, shattering local records and immobilizing transit across multiple states.

National Weather Service: Bomb Cyclone and a New Storm

The National Weather Service characterized Monday’s event as a "classic bomb cyclone/nor'easter off the Northeast coast, " a storm type defined by a rapid pressure fall within 24 hours that typically occurs in cooler months when frigid Arctic air collides with warmer temperatures. Officials issued strong wind and blizzard warnings, declared emergencies, and noted power failures as communities lost electricity while school and business closures multiplied.

Forecasters warned that the system was not the only concern: it is tracking another storm that could bring more snow later this week.

New York City: Streets Quiet, "Our Situation Has Been A World Transformed"

New York City experienced an uncommon pause in daily life: officials closed schools, handing the city its first "old-school" snow day in six years, and residents found streets largely free of morning traffic. In Lower Manhattan, snow shovelers outnumbered commuting office workers and pedestrians walked in lanes normally filled with cars.

Local residents and visitors described the day in vivid terms. Luis Valez, a concierge near Wall Street, said, "It's very quiet, except for the howling winds, " as he cleared the sidewalk. In Brooklyn, 57-year-old attorney Matthew Wojtkowiak shoveled his block and noted, "I'm from the Midwest, so this is in the zone. Not too bad, not too easy, either, " adding that schools were closed and he hoped people would get out and enjoy the snow. Tourists Karen Smith and Adele Bawden said they danced in Times Square in the middle of the road during the rush hour pause.

Some residents responded to emergencies on their own: Ingrid Devita said she likes to patrol the Lower East Side on skis to check on people who might need help, observing, "I find people fall in the snow and they can't get up. " A broader description of conditions in the city was summarized as "Our Situation Has Been A World Transformed. "

Nantucket and Cape Cod: Hurricane-Force Gusts

Wind amplified the danger of the snowfall. The highest gust recorded was 83 mph (133 kph) on Nantucket, and hurricane-force gusts occurred across Cape Cod, compounding transportation shutdowns and power outages and contributing to the decision by some authorities to declare emergencies.

Mystic Seaport Museum: Historic Ships Burdened by Snow

In Connecticut, crews at the Mystic Seaport Museum prepared to clear snow from a fleet of historic vessels, notably 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 plast — unclear in the provided context.

What makes this notable is the combination of intense precipitation and extreme winds, a "Goldilocks situation" for wet, heavy snow that meteorologists highlighted as producing unusually large accumulations in a short period. Owen Shieh, a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in Maryland, described how the temperature profile allowed maximum moisture and heavy, wet snowfall—conditions that both increase accumulation and complicate removal and recovery efforts.

The storm’s effects extended beyond local disruptions: the United Nations postponed a Security Council meeting amid the turmoil. With transportation shutdowns, school and business closures, and millions staying home across the region, officials emphasized that the immediate priority remains public safety while monitoring the potential for additional snowfall later this week.