Live updates: Historic blizzard targets millions in the Northeast with blinding snow, intense winds

Predicting the outcome of a major nor'easter or blizzard is often described as one of the most high-stakes impossible tasks in meteorology.

Unlike many other weather events, these coastal monsters thrive on a volatile "diesel engine" of clashing air masses—dry, bitter cold from Canada meeting warm, moisture-rich air from the Gulf Stream.

Because this temperature gradient is so sharp, a storm’s track wobbling by just 30 to 50 miles can be the difference between a city being buried in two feet of monster snow or simply waking up to a cold, dreary rain.

This sensitivity is why models often disagree until hours before the first flake falls; a minor shift in the upper-level jet stream or a small fluctuation in key ingredients can completely redraw the snow-to-rain battleground.

Even when meteorologists correctly predict that it will snow, determining the exact snow-to-water ratio remains a massive hurdle.

While the general rule is ten inches of snow for every inch of water, reality is rarely that simple. A "wet" storm might produce heavy, slushy snow at a 6:1 ratio, while a colder, drier system could fluff that same moisture into 20 inches of powdery accumulation.

Furthermore, intense nor'easters often develop narrow mesoscale snow bands—sometimes only 5 to 10 miles wide—that can drop 3 inches of snow per hour while a neighboring town sees almost nothing.

This combination of track uncertainty, sneaky warm air, and shifting snow ratios makes every major Northeast blizzard a complex puzzle that keeps forecasters—and residents—on edge until the storm finally clears.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has scheduled an emergency press conference for 1:30 p.m. ET today at the Spring Street Salt Shed to provide critical updates as a historic blizzard begins to bear down on the five boroughs.

With New York City now under its first Blizzard Warning in years and forecasts calling for up to 18 inches of snow, the Mayor is expected to outline the final stages of the city’s mobilization, which already includes 2,000 sanitation workers and 700 salt spreaders standing by for the historic blizzard.

There is a spooky numerical trend that has New York City meteorologists scratching their heads: nearly every all-time record-breaking blizzard in the city has occurred in a year ending in the number 6.

This 10-year interval has turned the mid-winter months of 1996, 2006, and 2016 into legendary milestones for weather enthusiasts and a nightmare for city transit.

As we find ourselves in 2026, the pattern seems to be holding firm as yet another historic bomb cyclone takes aim at the I-95 corridor.

To understand the scale of what is currently brewing, we have to look back at the big three storms that defined the last three decades:

• January 1996 (The Blizzard of '96): This massive nor'easter paralyzed the Eastern Seaboard for nearly a week. Central Park recorded 20.2 inches of snow, while other boroughs saw up to 30 inches. The storm was so intense it forced the New York Stock Exchange to close early and left thousands across the region without electricity or heat for days.

• February 2006: Just 10 years later, a minor affair turned into a record-shattering event. It dumped 26.9 inches on Central Park in a single 16-hour period—the highest total recorded since 1869 at that time. Snow fell at staggering rates of 3 to 4 inches per hour, causing subway delays and cutting bus service in half.

• January 2016 (Snowzilla): Keeping the "sixes" streak alive, the storm became the most significant storm in NYC history. It dropped an all-time record 27.5 inches of snow in Central Park. The storm prompted a total travel ban for all NYC and Long Island roads, proving that even with modern preparation, a 10-year monster storm can still bring the "city that never sleeps" to a complete standstill.

With Blizzard Warnings once again hoisted for the five boroughs this weekend, it appears the "10-year curse" is right on schedule. Whether it's a quirk of atmospheric cycles or just meteorological coincidence, the Northeast is once again bracing for a generational event that could join the ranks of '96, '06, and '16 in the record books.

The latest Fox Weather Model data confirms that this nor'easter is evolving into a formidable wind event, with a bomb cyclone trajectory that will generate punishing gusts across the entire I-95 corridor.

As the storm's central pressure plummets, the tightening pressure gradient will act like an atmospheric vacuum, pulling in ferocious winds that will peak between Sunday night and Monday morning.

According to the current forecast, Nantucket is in the crosshairs for the highest land-based impacts with gusts reaching 60–70 mph, while coastal hubs like New York City, Boston, and Montauk should brace for sustained lashing at 50–60 mph.

These aren't just nuisance winds; at these speeds, power outages become a near-certainty as frozen, snow-laden tree limbs snap onto utility lines.

Even further inland, cities like Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Washington D.C. will see significant gusts in the 30–40 mph range, which will be enough to create dangerous whiteout conditions as they whip falling snow into a frenzy.

If you have loose outdoor furniture or decorations, now is the time to secure them, as this system packs the mechanical energy of a tropical storm with the added punch of a historic blizzard.

Forecasters are sounding the alarm this morning as the combination of extreme wind and heavy, wet snow creates a perfect storm for widespread power outages.

The rapidly intensifying bomb cyclone will produce wind gusts between 50-60 mph along the coast, more than enough to snap frozen tree limbs and down utility lines.

Because the initial wave of precipitation may begin as a heavy, wet "heart-attack" snow, it will likely cling to infrastructure, adding thousands of pounds of weight to the grid before the strongest winds even arrive.

Major providers like National Grid, PECO, and PSEG will likely begin pre-staging lineman today, but once blizzard conditions begin, it will be too dangerous for bucket trucks to operate, meaning any outages that occur Sunday night may not be addressed until the winds subside on Monday.

Major carriers including American, Delta, United, Southwest, and JetBlue have proactively issued travel waivers for the Northeast as a historic blizzard prepares to slam the I-95 corridor.

These alerts cover a broad range of airports from D.C. to Boston, allowing passengers scheduled to fly on Sunday, February 22, and Monday, February 23, to rebook their flights without paying change fees or fare differences.

With snow rates expected to reach 1-3 inches per hour and dangerous winds winds threatening to ground hundreds of flights, airlines are strongly urging travelers to utilize their mobile apps to move flights to earlier today or after the storm’s peak on Tuesday to avoid being stranded at major hubs like JFK, Newark, and Logan International.

Confidence has officially reached critical mass for a high-impact shutdown snowstorm that is set to paralyze the Northeast corridor starting on Sunday.

This isn't just a standard winter storm; it is a rapidly intensifying bomb cyclone that has triggered Blizzard Warnings for New York City and surrounding communities.

Major transit hubs are already sounding the alarm, with Delta, United, American, Jetblue issuing widespread travel waivers.

With snow rates expected to hit 1-3 inches per hour during the peak of the storm, city officials are warning that plows will likely be unable to keep up, leading to inevitable road closures and a suspension of surface transit across the I-95 corridor through the Monday morning commute.

Just 24 hours ago, the I-95 corridor was looking at a nuisance 1-to-3-inch event. Now, millions are under Blizzard Warnings for up to 24 inches of snow.

This dramatic forecast shift wasn't a mistake—it was the result of a high-stakes "atmospheric merger" that happened faster and closer to the coast than most reliable computer models predicted.

It comes down to three critical factors that redefined this storm in a matter of hours:

• The phasing: This storm is a result of two separate energy systems—one from the Great Lakes and one from the Southeast—phasing or merging together. Earlier this week, models thought they would stay separate, resulting in a weak, disorganized storm. Instead, they synced up like two lanes of highway traffic merging at full speed, creating a massive explosion of atmospheric energy.
• Rapid bombogenesis: The storm will undergo bombogenesis, meaning its central pressure will drop at a rate that qualifies it as a bomb cyclone. This rapid intensification does more than just increase wind; it creates its own cold air through dynamic cooling. This will ensure most of the precipitation that falls is snow.
• The westward nudge: In the world of nor'easters, 50 miles is the difference between a dusting and a disaster. High pressure over eastern Canada will act like a brick wall, shunting the storm’s track further west and hugging the coastline. This will place the heaviest snow bands—which can drop 3 inches of snow per hour—directly over the major metropolitan hubs rather than out to sea.

Throughout the week, the GFS (American) model lived up to its reputation for being the enthusiastic outlier, consistently spitting out eye-popping, monster snow totals of two to three feet for the I-95 corridor.

While these maps went viral on social media, more historically reliable models like the ECMWF (European) and the UKMET remained skeptical, trending much further offshore and suggesting only a glancing blow of light snow.

However, in a dramatic atmospheric U-turn, the reliable models finally caved in the last 24 hours, shifting their tracks westward to align with the GFS's more aggressive solution and turning those crazy predictions into a looming reality for millions in the Northeast.

Nor'easters are notorious for being forecast killers because the difference between a record-breaking blizzard and a cold rain often hinges on a track shift of just 30 to 50 miles.

These dynamic systems rely on a volatile phasing of energy and rapid pressure drops that can create narrow, intense snow bands, making it nearly impossible to nail down precise totals until hours before the first flakes actually begin to fall.

For the first time in nearly a decade, New York City is officially under a Blizzard Warning, marking a dramatic escalation in the forecast for this weekend's bomb cyclone.

The FOX Forecast Center is now calling for 12-18" of snow for New York City and surrounding areas and says those numbers could go up in the hours before the storm hits.

While earlier models hinted at a modest event, the latest data has locked in a "worst-case" track that puts the five boroughs, Long Island, and coastal New Jersey directly in the bullseye for 12 to 24 inches of snow.

This isn't just a heavy snow event; it is a true atmospheric "bomb" that will likely paralyze the region through Monday.

With visibility expected to drop to near-zero for several consecutive hours, the city is bracing for its most significant winter impact since the historic 2016 "Snowzilla" storm.

Officials are urging residents to stay off the roads to allow plow crews a fighting chance against the blinding conditions.

From major coastal flooding in Queens to power outage risks across the I-95 corridor, the Northeast is preparing for a generational blizzard that will redefine the 2026 winter season.