Neighbors, government workers and a powerful railroad snow-clearing machine nicknamed “Darth Vader” scrambled to dig out much of the northeastern United States from a brutal and — in some areas — record-breaking storm that blanketed the region with snow and resulted in thousands of flight cancellations.
But as the snow moved northward and tapered off in other areas Tuesday, forecasters warned that another storm could be right around the corner.
Monday’s storm that meteorologists are calling the strongest in a decade dumped more than 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow in parts of the Northeast. More than 3 feet (91 centimeters) fell in Rhode Island — surpassing snow totals from the historic Blizzard of 1978 that struck the Northeast, the National Weather Service said.
By Tuesday morning, roads were beginning to reopen, mass transportation was coming back online in some cities and power had returned for some of the hundreds of thousands who had lost electricity in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island.
Amtrak canceled some trains between Boston and New York and between New York and Philadelphia on Tuesday morning.
Some schools reopening while others stick with online learning In New York City, which canceled classed Monday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that schools would reopen for in person learning on Tuesday, raising questions about how feasible that is with snow still piled along sidewalks.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said school should remain closed, while Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, described the situation as “a big mess.”
“There's going to be low attendance of students. You're going to have low attendance of staff because people don't know if they can travel, if they can get to schools,” he said.
Spokespersons for Mamdani didn’t respond to an email seeking comment but his schools chief, Chancellor Kamar Samuels, said in a post on X, that they were “confident in our decision to reopen.”
Philadelphia switched to online learning Monday and Tuesday. Districts on Long Island and elsewhere in the New York suburbs said they would cancel school again Tuesday.
Another storm is on the way
The weather service said it's tracking another storm that could bring more snow to the region later this week. A combination of rain and snow is expected Wednesday, with up to a couple of inches of possible snow.
While the new storm is not expected to be as strong, even a few extra inches of snow on top of hard-hit areas could make cleanup more difficult, said Frank Pereira, meteorologist for the weather service in College Park, Maryland.
“Any additional snow at this point is probably not going to be welcome,” he said.
Bomb cyclone cancels thousands of flights
The weather service referred to Monday’s storm as a “classic bomb cyclone/nor’easter off the Northeast coast.” A bomb cyclone happens when a storm’s pressure falls by a certain amount within a 24-hour period, occurring mainly in the fall and winter when frigid Arctic air can reach the south and clash with warmer temperatures.
More than 2,000 flights in and out of the United States were canceled Tuesday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Most of the cancellations involved airports in New York, New Jersey and Boston.
Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport paused its airport operations Monday as it dealt with nearly 38 inches (97 centimeters) of snow, according to the Weather Service, breaking a record of 28.6 inches (72.6 centimeters) set in 1978. The pause continued through Tuesday morning as the airport assessed conditions.
Central Park in New York City recorded 19 inches (48 centimeters) of snow. Warwick, Rhode Island, exceeded 3 feet (91 centimeters), topping the nation so far. The highest wind gust of 84 mph (135 kph) was recorded in Montauk Point, New York.
New York, Philadelphia and other cities, as well as several states, declared emergencies.
The Boston Globe management called off printing its daily newspaper for the first time in its more than 150-year history because snow and winds kept staff from safely getting to its printing plant, the newspaper said in an article on its website.
Christa Prince and two others were out in Brooklyn on Monday afternoon with shovels and an electric snowblower.
“We’re just making a path for this car,” Prince said. “It’s not our car but you know, we’re just doing our neighbor a kind deed.”
