February 2026 North American blizzard

From February 22–24, 2026, a powerful, historic and deadly blizzard, unofficially named Winter Storm Hernando by The Weather Channel and various media, or more commonly the Blizzard of 2026, caused extensive impacts across the Northeastern United States. The storm dropped 1–2 feet (12–24 in; 30–61 cm) of snow across a large swath of the megalopolis from Philadelphia to Boston, with up to 3 feet (36 in; 91 cm) in southeastern New England, while also bringing blizzard conditions, strong gusty winds, and coastal flooding to the shorelines of the region. Originating out of a shortwave trough that moved ashore on the West Coast of the United States on February 20, the system swiftly moved eastwards across the country before beginning to consolidate late the following day. A new surface low developed off the southeastern United States early on February 22 and began moving north, before rapidly strengthening overnight, bringing blizzard conditions and very heavy snowfall to the Northeast corridor on February 23, moving into Atlantic Canada by later that day. The blizzard gradually weakened after exiting Canada, dissipating on February 25.

States of emergencies were declared in seven states, including New Jersey, New York and large portions of New England. Heavy precipitation was anticipated for major U.S. metropolitan areas, some of which were predicted to set new records. Blizzard warnings were issued for a majority of northeastern Mid-Atlantic states, the first such in New York City and Boston, respectively, since March 2017 and January 2022. Travel bans were enacted in multiple regions such as New York City and the state of New Jersey. The blizzard was described by some as among the worst to threaten the Northeast since the blizzard of 1996.

As of March 6, at least 30 fatalities from the blizzard have been confirmed: 15 in New Jersey, 6 in New York, 2 each in Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, and one in Massachusetts, respectively. Over 600,000 people lost power at the height of the blizzard due to strong gusty winds. Blizzard conditions were verified across numerous locations, including New Jersey and Massachusetts, with both daily and all-time snowfall records being broken throughout the Northeast. Hurricane-strength wind gusts were reported in New England, nearly reaching 100 mph (160 km/h) in the immediate coastal regions. Coastal flooding caused minor to moderate damage along the Jersey Shore and surrounding waters.