The January 2015 North American blizzard was a powerful and severe

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

that dumped up to of snowfall in parts of

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. Originating from a disturbance just off the coast of the

Northwestern United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming ...

on January 23, it initially produced a light swath of snow as it traveled southeastwards into the Midwest as an

Alberta clipper An Alberta clipper, also known as an Alberta low, Alberta cyclone, Alberta lee cyclone, Canadian clipper, or simply clipper, is a fast-moving low-pressure system that originates in or near the Canadian province of Alberta just east of the Rocky ...

on January 24–25. It gradually weakened as it moved eastwards towards the Atlantic Ocean, however, a new dominant low formed off the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

late on January 26, and rapidly deepened as it moved northeastwards towards southeastern New England, producing pronounced blizzard conditions. The nor’easter then gradually weakened as it moved away into Canada. The storm was also given unofficial names, such as ''Blizzard of 2015'', and ''Winter Storm Juno''. The blizzard disrupted transportation, with snow emergencies declared in six states and travel bans enacted in four of these states –

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

– as well as in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Additionally,

blizzard warning A blizzard warning ( SAME code: BZW) is a hazardous weather statement issued by Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) of the National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States, which indicates heavy snowfall accompanied by sustained winds or frequent gu ...

s were issued for much of the I-95 corridor from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, with meteorologists and experts the potential for "historic" and "record-breaking" snowfall totals of up to in the major metropolitan areas, including New York City. Most

passenger rail A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

service was suspended, and thousands of flights were cancelled. Schools and activities saw weather-related cancellations for one or more days. In a first for New York City, New York Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

made the decision to shut down the city's subway system; it had never previously been closed due to snow. Very gusty winds were reported from the storm, especially in

, peaking close to in

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

. of which the storm began a month-long period in which the city of Boston would accumulate record amounts of seasonal snowfall. However, snowfall fell significantly short of what was anticipated, mainly due to a shift of the storm's track. After the storm had passed, a number of New York City residents criticized Cuomo’s decision to shut down the subway; the blizzard dropped much less snow in the city than originally expected, totaling in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

. The models were 50 miles off; the storm failed to bring moisture back to New York City and New Jersey. At least 3 people died as a result of the storm and damages were estimated to be US$500 million (2015 USD).

Meteorological history

On January 23, a

low-pressure area In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with incle ...

developed off the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

, before moving over the

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

by January 24. The storm system quickly moved southeastward into the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...

during the evening of January 24, taking a path typical of an

. As it progressed southward, the storm intensified, with

frontogenesis Frontogenesis is a meteorological process of tightening of horizontal temperature gradients to produce fronts. In the end, two types of fronts form: cold fronts and warm fronts. A cold front is a narrow line where temperature decreases rapidly. A ...

occurring the next day. By noon on January 25, the upper-level low was centered near the border between

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

in correlation with a weak

shortwave trough A shortwave or shortwave trough is an embedded kink in the trough / ridge pattern. Its length scale is much smaller than that of and is embedded within longwaves, which are responsible for the largest scale (synoptic scale) weather systems. Sho ...

. Moisture from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

wrapped around the system from the south, resulting in widespread rainfall and snow over the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. Throughout the day, the system traversed eastward along the

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

border. Snowfall remained concentrated along a

cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface Trough (meteorology), trough of Low-pressure area, low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropica ...

north of the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

At 09:00

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

on January 26, the

Weather Prediction Center The Weather Prediction Center (WPC), located in College Park, Maryland, is one of nine service centers under the umbrella of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), a part of the National Weather Service (NWS), which in turn is ...

began issuing storm summaries on the developing disturbance while the low-pressure system was centered near

Bluefield, West Virginia Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield micropolitan area extending into Virginia, which had a populatio ...

. At the time,

mixed precipitation Rain and snow mixed (American English) or sleet (Commonwealth English) is precipitation composed of a mixture of rain and partially melted snow. Unlike ice pellets, which are hard, and freezing rain, which is fluid until striking an object where ...

was occurring over northern

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

. As this system tracked eastward, it gradually weakened; however, at the same time, a new low-pressure system formed off the coast of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and began to track north-northeastward, eventually becoming the dominant low of the storm. Early on January 30, the nor'easter left the East Coast, even as another winter storm began to impact the region. During the next day, the former nor'easter continued to accelerate eastward across the North Atlantic, even as it rapidly weakened. On January 31, the winter storm was absorbed by a much more powerful

extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...

developing over

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

Preparations

On January 25, 2015, blizzard warnings were issued for areas of coastal

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

. High winds and heavy snow were forecast for the evening of January 26 and all day January 27, impacting a 250-mile area from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. On January 26, many roads in New York and New England were closed to all vehicles except emergency vehicles due to life-threatening conditions on area roadways. Many churches and other houses of prayer remained open to those in need of a

warming center A warming center (also a heat bank or warm bank) is a short-term emergency shelter that operates when temperatures or a combination of precipitation, wind chill, wind and temperature become dangerously inclement. Their paramount purpose is the p ...

. At the height of the storm, a 300-mile (480 km) stretch of

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

from northern New Jersey to the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border was closed in conjunction with travel bans in the impacted areas. Portions of Interstates 78, 80, 84, 87, 90, 91 and 93 were also shut down by the storm.

Northeastern United States

Mid-Atlantic states

=Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York

= In preparation for the winter storm, the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...

deployed approximately 350 salting trucks to treat major roadways. On January 26, Pennsylvania Governor

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as chairman and CEO of his business, The Wolf Organization, and l ...

signed a disaster emergency proclamation in an attempt to distribute state resources as quickly as possible. Philadelphia Mayor

Michael Nutter Michael Anthony Nutter (born June 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he is also a former member of the Philadelphia City Council from the 4th di ...

closed municipal offices and schools for January 27 and cancelled trash collection for the day. Meanwhile,

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

's bus lines closed while its train system ran 24 hours a day for Monday and Tuesday. According to the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, the snow emergency declaration was lifted at 6:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. In

, the South Brunswick Police Department said in a press release on January 25 that additional officers and public works staff would be on duty throughout the storm. The department urged residents to make preparations in anticipation that travel would be impossible for several days. The Monroe Township Office of Emergency Management released a guideline to ensure residents were safe and prepared for the nor'easter. New Jersey Governor

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

declared a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

for the duration of the storm; in a morning press conference, Christie also urged all nonessential personnel to remain off roadways. A travel ban was issued later that day, to be put in effect on January 26 at 11pm;

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

and

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. It ...

services were also suspended. In a statement on January 25,

New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...

urged residents to take their necessary safety precautions and prepare for the possibility of disrupted commute on Monday and Tuesday. The

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...

deployed extra crews, salting trucks, and chained tires.

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

promised full refunds for flights significantly delayed. The State Emergency Operations Center in Albany was expected to be staffed beginning early on January 26 to coordinate with all affected counties. At least 1,806 plows and 126,000 tons of salt were expected to be divided across the region, and the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

was expected to deploy more than six dozen personnel and 20 vehicles throughout the region. New York State Police were expected to bring in additional personnel, as well as supply at least 50 4x4 vehicles, 8 all-terrain vehicles, and 8 snowmobiles. At its major transportation facilities, the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

readied more than 200 piece of snow equipment at its airports, more than 60 pieces of snow equipment for its bridges and tunnels, hundreds of thousands of gallons of liquid anti-icer chemicals and thousands of tons of solid de-icers, plow-equipped trains, liquid snow-melting agent trains, and a "jet engine" plow. The

New York State Thruway Authority The New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) is a New York State public-benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The NYSTA was formed in 1950 with the responsibility of constructing, main ...

activated its emergency operations ahead of the winter storm and was expected to supply 338 snowplows, 18 snowblowers, 55 front-end loaders, and approximately 126,000 tons of salt. The

New York State Department of Transportation The New York State Department of Transportation'' (NYSDOT) is the department of the Government of New York (state), New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, Rail transport, railroads, mass transit sys ...

also activated its emergency operations, mobilizing 162 snow plows and nearly 338 operators to

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

and the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

, totaling to approximately 600 plows and 1,300 operators and supervisors across

downstate New York Downstate New York is a region that generally consists of the southeastern and more densely populated portion of the U.S. state of New York, in contrast to Upstate New York, which comprises a larger geographic area with much sparser population d ...

. A total of 1,444 snow plows and 3,629 operators and supervisors would be available statewide.

New York City Mayor The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, ...

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...

warned of of snow, and said, "Prepare for something worse than we have seen before." De Blasio ordered all vehicles off the streets by 11pm on January 26, and declared that, with the exception of emergency and government vehicles, anyone driving in New York City after 11pm on January 26 would be fined. Services on the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...

, and

were also suspended. Alberta clipper 2015-01-26 1415Z

New England

=Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts

= Connecticut Governor

Dannel Malloy Dannel Patrick Malloy (; born July 21, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 88th governor of Connecticut from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the Democratic Governors Association from 2016 to 2017. In Ju ...

announced in a press conference early on January 26 that

Connecticut Transit CT Transit (styled as CT''transit'') is a public transportation bus system serving many metropolitan areas and their surrounding suburbs in the state of Connecticut. CT Transit is a division of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, alth ...

services would be suspended and a statewide travel ban would be effective beginning at 9 p.m. EST; he also urged all residents to leave work early and shelter in their homes. The

announced that it would be adding additional trains to accommodate for those who travel by rail. The governor announced that more than 600 crews would be working to pre-treat major roads, while he issued a declaration of civil preparedness emergency to coordinate resources during the storm.

Connecticut Light and Power Eversource Energy is a publicly traded, Fortune 500 energy company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts, with several regulated subsidiaries offering retail electricity, natural gas service and water service to appr ...

and

United Illuminating The United Illuminating Company (UI) is a regional electric distribution company based in Orange, Connecticut. Established in 1899, UI is engaged in the purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity and related services to 325,000 ...

prepared for a "Level 1" emergency and summoned outside tree and line crews. Later that day, the governor declared a state of emergency. The travel ban was lifted for Fairfield and Litchfield Counties in western Connecticut at 8a.m. on the 27th, and for the remainder of the state at 2p.m. that afternoon. Rhode Island Governor

Gina Raimondo Gina Marie Raimondo (; born May 17, 1971) is an American businesswoman, lawyer, politician, and venture capitalist who served as the 40th United States secretary of commerce from 2021 to 2025. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served as ...

urged people to ensure that they had enough food, water, and fuel to last several days for what could be a "very severe and dangerous weather event". She asked residents to keep fire hydrants uncovered and asked that generators used for electricity were located outside of homes and in well-ventilated locations. On January 26, the governor declared a state of emergency and announced that a statewide travel ban would go into effect at midnight. National Grid gathered approximately 1,000 crews to help restore power after the storm passed. Massachusetts Governor

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...

declared a state of emergency and asked residents to remain safe and off roadways. A statewide travel ban was issued effective at midnight on January 27, and the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

announced that it would be closed that day. In

, up to 35,000 tons of salt were prepared and snow farms were readied to store the removed snow following the passage of the storm. Electric companies brought in extra crews. The

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

Department of Public Works gathered more than 800 tons of salt and began to treat major roadways in advance of the storm.

Atlantic Canada

Environment Canada issued special weather statements to all of the Maritime provinces on January 23, warning of the future developing storm. On January 26 Environment Canada issued Winter Storm Warnings for all of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, and central to southern

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. These warnings were later upgraded to Blizzard Warnings. Between of snow was forecast across the Maritimes. On January 27, snow started early in the morning in southwestern Nova Scotia and continued northeastward. A large wind gust of was measured in Baccaro Point, NS. Meanwhile, in Sluice Point there were gusts exceeding in the afternoon. In Moncton snow totaled near the most out of all four provinces. The strong winds and blowing snow caused poor traveling conditions across Atlantic Canada.

Impact

Northeastern United States

Mid-Atlantic states

FlightAware FlightAware is an American multi-national technology company that provides real-time, historical, and predictive flight tracking data and products. it is the world's largest flight tracking platform, with a network of over 32,000 ADS-B gro ...

reported that 1,200 flights were expected to be cancelled on January 26. Delta pre-emptively cancelled 600 flights; furthermore, a dozen flights from London Heathrow to New York, Philadelphia and Boston were cancelled on the same date. At least two deaths related to the nor'easter occurred on

. Sean Urda, a 17-year-old student from John Glenn High School, was killed when he struck a light pole while snow tubing with two other people in Huntington. An 83-year-old man with

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

was found dead in his backyard in

Bay Shore Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. The population of the CDP was 29,244 at the time of the 2020 ...

. The

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

postponed two games scheduled to take place on January 26, both in

. The game between the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

and the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

was rescheduled for April 6, while the game between the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

and the

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

-based

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

was rescheduled for March 3. Snow from the storm fell as far south as parts of

, southern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, where trace amounts were reported beginning on January 26. Schools in some Virginia counties were closed due to the weather.

New England

=Massachusetts and Rhode Island

= A record-breaking 22.1 inches of snow fell in Boston on January 27.

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

had events scheduled to take place in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, and in

, but had to cancel them, instead choosing to air

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...

highlights. Significant flooding was reported in Scituate,

, where National Guardsmen were sent to rescue people from the high waters and power was cut to some areas of the town to prevent fires from breaking out. Elsewhere in the state, eighty feet of

seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation, ...

in Marshfield was washed away by the storm, and a number of houses in the town were condemned. "Virtually all" utility customers lost power on the island of Nantucket and in

Provincetown Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Pr ...

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

during the storm. A replica of the , maintained by the Providence Maritime Heritage Foundation and designated in 1992 as the flagship and tall ship ambassador of the state of

, was toppled and severely damaged by high winds during the storm while in

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

for the winter.

Gallery

Records

Up to of snow fell in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

, marking the city's largest storm total accumulation on record. The Blue Hill Observatory in

observed , or the second-largest storm total accumulation on record, while both

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

and

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

recorded their fourth-largest storm total accumulations on record, at .

observed of snow, its largest January storm total accumulation and its sixth largest storm total accumulation on record.

Snowfall totals

The following is a list of storm totals above . Click "hide" to collapse table. Sources:

Disaster relief funds

In April 2015, President Obama made a federal disaster declaration for the January 26–27 snow, allowing some reimbursement for damages. Massachusetts distributed an extra $30 million to cities and towns for repairs from the winter overall.

References

External links

Event Review
from the

Meteorological history

Preparations

Northeastern United States

Mid-Atlantic states

=Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York

New England

=Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts

Atlantic Canada

Impact

Northeastern United States

Mid-Atlantic states

New England

=Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Gallery

Records

Snowfall totals

Disaster relief funds

See also

References

External links