Power of community response as travel bans lifted: New England digs out after record-breaking blizzard

Residents and local institutions are the first to feel the immediate effects of this storm: snow-clogged streets, paused Ramadan programming, and packed retail lines for essentials. The lowercase power of neighbors, municipal crews and mutual aid is what’s moving the recovery now, even as travel bans have been lifted in Mass. and R. I. and cleanup ramps up across southern New England.

Power and priorities — who is digging out and what they face

Here’s the part that matters: the people most affected are commuters, students, worshippers and small businesses in Greater Boston, Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. The nor’easter that barreled through on Monday shut down streets, schools and businesses, leaving communities to prioritize reopening transit routes, clearing access to religious sites and supporting storefronts and suppliers that saw sudden surges in demand.

Storm footprint and immediate disruptions

Monday’s Blizzard of ’26 dumped more than three feet of snow in many portions of Rhode Island and well over 30 inches in parts of Massachusetts. Across the region the storm deposited more than two — and even three — feet of snow in places, and it forced widespread closures. Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts bore the brunt, with more than three feet of snow reported at T. F. Green Airport in Warwick. Streets, schools and businesses were shut down during the nor’easter, and the mosque closures interrupted Ramadan schedules.

Response: equipment, requests and short-term logistics

Local leaders moved quickly to request help and reallocate resources. Vermont and Connecticut agreed to send equipment and people to help Rhode Island dig out; the pledged items include front-end loaders, dump trucks and plows, plus operators to drive them, with deployment expected as soon as Wednesday. Governor Dan McKee has requested additional assistance from other New England states and is in discussions. Earlier in the day, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley asked the mayors of Boston, Hartford and Bridgeport, Conn., and other less-impacted cities if they could send plows to assist.

Travel restrictions that had been put in place earlier in the response were lifted in Massachusetts and Rhode Island as cleanup advanced. At the same time, some nonessential travel had been restricted in some counties when the statewide state of emergency was issued by Governor Maura Healey.

Retail rushes, community rituals and public life

Ahead of the storm people rushed to stock up on groceries, flashlights and shovels — and for some, cannabis. Several dispensaries reported sales skyrocketed ahead of Monday’s storm, mirroring a similar spike in January. On each of the two days prior to January’s snowstorm, pot sales across Massachusetts eclipsed last year’s 4/20 holiday by more than $2 million. In Easthampton, The Verb is Herb was packed all weekend; Karen Croisetiere, who checks customers’ IDs at the door, said people were still arriving as late as 8 p. m. on Sunday night, including some who crossed from Connecticut. Croisetiere, 63, described customers as eager to secure supplies for snow days.

The Islamic Society of Boston — the largest mosque in New England — had been closed since Sunday night because of the storm, which brought its Ramadan program to a halt. The mosque, which has locations in Roxbury and Cambridge, reopened on Tuesday beginning with early afternoon prayers. The Cambridge location will resume offering iftar on Tuesday; Cambridge offers iftar every day during the month of Ramadan while the Roxbury location provides the meal on weekends. Hundreds attend both locations for taraweeh prayers, and community members missed communal iftar on Monday.

Mini timeline of the immediate recovery

• Sunday night: mosque locations closed and Ramadan programming paused.
• Monday: nor’easter barrels through, shutting streets, schools and businesses; major snowfall totals recorded, including more than three feet at T. F. Green Airport in Warwick.
• Tuesday: the Islamic Society of Boston reopens for early afternoon prayers; travel bans are lifted in Massachusetts and Rhode Island as cleanup continues.
• As soon as Wednesday: Vermont and Connecticut plan to send loaders, dump trucks, plows and operators to assist Rhode Island.

The real question now is how quickly municipal crews, mutual aid and the incoming equipment can reconnect neighborhoods and restore regular schedules for schools and businesses.

What’s easy to miss is how layered this response is: municipal requests, interstate assistance and neighborhood-level action are all running at once, and each determines how fast daily routines return.