Winter Storm Hernando Loosens Its Grip, But Northeast Faces Lingering Wind, Ice and Outage Risks
A historic storm begins to ease, but the impacts are far from over
Winter Storm Hernando may be past its most intense snowfall in some locations, but it is not finished with the Northeast. As Monday turned into Monday night, forecasters warned that wind and snow would continue to blow across the region, creating hazardous conditions even where the steadiest snow had already wound down. For thousands of households still dealing with power outages, the storm’s tail end mattered as much as its peak.
The system has been described as a “bomb cyclone,” a term used when a low-pressure system strengthens rapidly. Hernando’s fast intensification helped drive a combination of heavy snow and strong winds that, in many communities, produced near-whiteout conditions and made travel difficult to impossible. Officials across multiple states urged residents to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary, and to plan for continued disruption into Tuesday as the region navigated the ripple effects of closures and cancellations.
Authorities also reported that the storm has been associated with at least two deaths. In Maryland’s Calvert County, sheriff’s deputies said they responded to a serious crash Sunday afternoon in which two passengers were found dead and one person was in critical condition. Early findings indicated a tree, weighed down after up to five inches of snow fell in the area, toppled into the roadway and struck the vehicle.
Why conditions can worsen after the heaviest snow ends
One of the most dangerous aspects of a major winter storm is that conditions can remain severe even as snowfall rates drop. In Hernando’s case, forecasters emphasized that winds would continue to blast across the Northeast overnight, capable of producing whiteout conditions through blowing and drifting snow. That means visibility can collapse quickly on open roads, bridges, and coastal corridors—especially in areas less protected from the wind.
Blizzard warnings began expiring in parts of the coastal Northeast Monday evening, including in major cities such as New York and Portland, Maine, as snowfall began to wind down. But the situation was not uniform. Boston, for example, was cited as a location that could continue to see blizzard conditions into early Tuesday, reflecting how wind exposure and banding can keep hazards elevated even when the broader storm is pulling away.
Another post-snowfall risk is ice. As partial snowmelt occurs and temperatures hover around freezing, refreezing can turn treated roads and sidewalks slick. Meteorologists noted that travel could remain difficult for days in some locations due to this melt-and-refreeze cycle, which can create patches of black ice and hard-packed snow.
Blizzard criteria: more than “a lot of snow”
As blizzard warnings remained in effect for some areas while expiring in others, forecasters stressed that a blizzard is not simply a big snowstorm. The National Weather Service definition focuses on visibility and wind, requiring specific criteria to occur simultaneously for a blizzard to be officially ongoing. Importantly, a blizzard can occur even without new snow falling. If winds remain strong enough to blow existing snow and reduce visibility, blizzard conditions can persist after the main snowfall has ended.
This distinction matters for public safety. People may look outside, see less snow falling, and assume the danger has passed—only to encounter sudden, near-zero visibility on roads where drifting snow is actively reshaping lanes and shoulders.
Power outages: signs of improvement, but restoration could take time
One of the most widespread impacts from Hernando has been power loss. By Monday, outages were beginning to drop for the first time since the storm began, though heavy snow and powerful winds were still ongoing in some areas. Across the country, more than 650,000 customers were reported without power at one point, with the Northeast bearing the brunt.
Massachusetts remained the hardest hit. Reports cited more than 282,000 customers without power, representing roughly half of all outages linked to the storm at that time, and later updates noted outages nearing 290,000 statewide. New Jersey followed with about 93,000 outages, and other states with major impacts included Delaware, Rhode Island and Maryland.
On Nantucket, the situation appeared especially challenging. Footage from local media showed power poles covered in snow, snapped in half and lying by the road—damage that can complicate restoration timelines. With heavy snow still falling in some areas and roads nearly impassable across parts of the region, officials warned that outages could be long-lasting.
Travel warnings and emergency measures across the region
From the Mid-Atlantic into New England, state and local leaders responded with emergency declarations, travel restrictions, and public safety warnings. Governors in seven states issued emergency declarations, and winter weather alerts extended well beyond the core of the heaviest snow.
In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey issued an immediate ban on all non-essential motor vehicle travel in the southern coast of the state. A 40 mph speed limit was also put in effect on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Officials described road conditions as life-threatening, with visibility at or near zero in some places. They also said plows were struggling to keep up and that ongoing rescue operations had been suspended in the most dangerous conditions.
In New York City, officials said every single street had been plowed at least once. Yet with snow still falling and winds whipping it around, the city cautioned that it might not look like crews had been through—one reason plows continued to make rounds. A citywide travel ban was lifted, but officials warned that roads remained slick.
In Maryland, state police said they handled more than 1,190 calls for service and responded to nearly 343 crashes as snow made roads slick. About four inches fell in Baltimore, with parts of Baltimore County seeing close to five inches, according to the National Weather Service. Police said nearly 30% of calls came from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where a Blizzard Warning remained in effect through Monday evening due to strong wind gusts.
Snow totals and record-setting reports
Hernando produced remarkable snowfall in multiple locations, with some sites reporting totals that challenged long-standing records. In Providence, Rhode Island, T.F. Green Airport officially reported a two-day snowfall total of 32.8 inches. That set a new record for the snowiest two-day period, breaking the previous record of 28.6 inches from the “Blizzard of ’78.” The airport also reported 30.4 inches in a single day, surpassing the prior one-day record of 19 inches that ended Jan. 8, 1996.
In Boston, the area had seen around 15 inches of snowfall at one point in the day’s updates, and local officials prepared to use specialized vehicles. Boston police deployed All-Terrain Vehicles to navigate streets as conditions deteriorated.
New York City’s Central Park was reported to have picked up just over 15 inches of snow, making it the city’s heaviest snowstorm in just over five years, since a 17.4-inch event from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3, 2021. Forecasters noted that if the park added another 2.4 inches, Hernando would become the city’s heaviest snowstorm since a 27.5-inch storm in late January 2016.
Elsewhere in the region, Freehold Township, New Jersey, was cited with 24.2 inches on the ground officially from Winter Storm Hernando. In Monmouth County, about 9% of customers had lost power at one point—about 28,000 homes and businesses, according to outage tracking.
Some snowfall totals required careful review. In the New York area, Islip was mentioned as a location that may have notched a new record, though totals would need to be reexamined to confirm how much was snowfall versus snowdrift.
Snowfall rates and the role of stalled snowbands
In major storms, accumulation is only part of the story; the rate at which snow falls can quickly overwhelm plows, emergency services, and road treatment. During Hernando, snowfall rates were reported at one inch per hour at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and two inches per hour at JFK International Airport. Providence was reported to have picked up nearly 14 inches in just six hours. The National Weather Service office in Upton, Long Island, reported a snowfall rate of three inches per hour earlier in the morning.
Meteorologists pointed to stalled snowbands as a key driver of extreme totals. The most prolific snowfalls outside higher elevations often occur when intense snowbands remain parked over one area for hours. That was essentially the pattern observed along the Eastern Seaboard from Delaware to southern New England, where heavy bands of snow were noted to have hardly moved during a multi-hour window.
What makes a “bomb cyclone” different from a hurricane
Satellite imagery showed Hernando with a dramatic, spinning shape off the East Coast, a look that can resemble a hurricane. The storm also brought powerful winds and heavy precipitation—snow, in this case—adding to the comparisons.
But meteorologists stressed that the similarities are limited. Unlike hurricanes, which feed on warm tropical waters and have a warm core, bomb cyclones form when a low-pressure system strengthens rapidly, often at higher latitudes, when cold air meets warmer ocean waters. Because cold air is involved, these systems maintain a cold core. Hernando’s central pressure was described as similar to that of a Category 2 hurricane, but its structure and energy source were different.
Forecasters also noted the storm’s rapid intensification: with a drop in central pressure of about 40 millibars in 12 hours, the system exceeded the criteria for a bomb cyclone, reaching the threshold in about nine hours.
Schools, city operations and the challenge of digging out
The storm forced widespread school closures, including in some of the nation’s largest districts. New York City public schools were set to reopen Tuesday, the mayor announced, after an unexpected day off that became the city’s first traditional snow day with no remote learning since before the pandemic in 2019. Officials noted that a waiver was needed and that, with midwinter break ending, many students did not have their devices at home. The city also faced disruption from storm-related flight cancellations that left some families and teachers stranded during vacation travel.
Boston and several other districts canceled classes for Tuesday as well, reflecting how snow removal, road conditions, and staffing challenges can extend closures beyond the period of heaviest snowfall.
In New York City, snow operations extended beyond plowing. The city had 575 emergency snow shovelers working overnight, clearing 1,500 crosswalks, 400 fire hydrants and 900 bus stops, according to a report cited in the updates. The Department of Sanitation hires emergency shovelers during major storms, with pay starting at $19.14 an hour and rising to $28.71 an hour after the first 40 hours worked in a week.
Air travel disruptions spread well beyond the storm zone
Hernando’s impact on travel was not limited to highways and local streets. Flight cancellations mounted nationwide, and the disruption reached airports far from the snow. In Salt Lake City, more than 40 flights were canceled due to the storm even though the local forecast there was sunny with highs in the 50s, illustrating how aircraft and crew positioning can ripple across the national network.
Since the storm began, more than 9,900 flights were canceled nationwide, according to flight-tracking data cited in the updates, with hundreds more already canceled for the next day. Another update put the total above 10,000 cancellations from yesterday through tomorrow in the U.S., including more than 5,300 cancellations in a single day and roughly 1,300 already canceled for the following day. Travelers were advised to check frequently with airlines, especially for flights into or out of the Northeast.
Heavy, wet snow and safety concerns during cleanup
As communities transition from storm response to cleanup, officials and meteorologists cautioned that the snow itself can pose risks. With temperatures hovering around or just below freezing, the atmosphere can hold more moisture, leading to heavier, wetter snow. This type of snow is sometimes referred to as “heart-attack snow” because of the strain it can place on the cardiovascular system during shoveling.
The practical advice was straightforward: take extra care before heading out to shovel, pace yourself, and recognize that the physical effort can be significant—especially when snow is dense and water-laden.
Coastal flooding: a secondary threat around high tide
Beyond snow and wind, coastal flooding concerns also emerged. The threat was said to have peaked during the day Monday, but forecasters warned that high tide early Tuesday morning could push some monitoring sites along the Northeast coast back into action stage or minor flood stage, according to the National Weather Prediction Service. For coastal communities, that meant the storm’s hazards could shift from snowfall to water levels even as the system pulled away.
What to watch into Tuesday
By late Monday, the message across the region was consistent: even as the heaviest snow ended in some places, the aftermath would continue to shape daily life. Wind-driven drifting, lingering blizzard conditions in exposed areas, icy refreeze, and ongoing power restoration were expected to keep travel difficult. Officials continued to recommend avoiding travel when possible and allowing extra time for any essential trips.
For many residents, the next phase would be measured in plowed lanes, restored lights, reopened schools, and rescheduled flights—incremental steps back to normal after a storm that combined rapid intensification, intense snow rates, and widespread disruption.
Key impacts reported during the storm
Winds and drifting snow continued to threaten whiteout conditions even after the heaviest snow tapered in some areas.
Power outages were widespread, with Massachusetts the hardest hit and significant outages also reported in New Jersey and other nearby states.
Providence’s T.F. Green Airport reported record-setting snowfall totals, including 32.8 inches over two days and 30.4 inches in one day.
Travel restrictions and emergency measures included a non-essential travel ban in parts of Massachusetts and ongoing warnings about slick roads in New York City.
Nationwide flight cancellations exceeded 9,900 to more than 10,000 over a multi-day period, underscoring the storm’s broad ripple effects.