As a rapidly intensifying storm approached the U.S. East Coast, the National Weather Service increased its assessment of the severity of the weather and issued blizzard warnings spanning from Delaware to Massachusetts. The warnings covered New York City and Long Island, the Boston area, and coastal communities in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, officials said as communities prepared for Sunday heavy snow and damaging winds.
The Weather Prediction Center’s Cody Snell said the storm had the potential to match a much larger regional impact than forecasters had projected earlier. Snell said blizzard-level conditions were expected because the system’s intensity shifted, even though officials had believed days earlier that the storm would be much milder.
The National Weather Service said many areas could see 1 to 2 feet of snow, while parts of New York and New Jersey also faced the risk of flooding. The weather service said the storm could begin as rainfall in some places before worsening, with the heaviest snowfall expected at night.
The Weather Prediction Center warned that the storm’s winds—steady at 25 to 35 mph—would contribute to hazardous conditions. The weather service said it would “make travel dangerous, if not impossible,” and that scattered downed tree limbs and power outages were possible due to snow load and strong winds, as heavy snow accumulated.
Snell said the storm would arrive Sunday morning in areas around Washington before stretching toward Philadelphia and New York City, with conditions eventually reaching Boston in the evening. The weather service also said snowfall would taper by Monday afternoon after peaking, and that in some areas snow rates could reach as much as 2 inches (5 centimeters) per hour at times.
In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city would expand snow-preparation efforts used during a major snowfall weeks earlier. Mamdani said officials had initially expected far less snow, but that the updated forecast required a decision on whether to open schools Monday that would be made using “up-to-date and accurate information,” according to his remarks.
Mamdani said the city brought in additional snow clearing equipment from outside the city and planned to increase the use of geocoding to track bus stops and crosswalks needing clearing. His comments reflected how officials scrambled to adjust logistics after the storm’s forecast shifted.
Outside city government, some businesses prepared for an extended period of work. John Berlingieri, who runs Berrington Snow Management, said he scrapped plans for a family trip to Puerto Rico and directed his company’s fleet toward what he described as a large clearing operation across Long Island, including around shopping malls and industrial parks.
Berlingieri said employees spent the previous days recharging batteries on the company’s 40 front-end loaders and replacing windshield wipers on snow removal vehicles. He said, “I’m anticipating at least one week of work around the clock,” describing a schedule in which crews would work continuously, sleep briefly and then resume.
As the storm drew closer, officials in Atlantic City, New Jersey, urged residents and visitors to stay off the streets, especially in low-lying neighborhoods prone to flooding. Scott Evans, the city’s fire chief and emergency management coordinator, warned that drivers and pedestrians could have trouble seeing hazards until it was too late, saying, “So you won’t be able to see it until it’s too late, so therefore please stay at home.”
Religious groups also adjusted plans. Many churches canceled Sunday services and other activities, and St. Veronica Parish in Howell, New Jersey, added an extra Mass on Saturday evening after its Sunday schedule was changed; Rev. Peter James Alindogan posted that message online, asking people to “Please stay safe, avoid unnecessary travel, and keep one another in prayer during the storm.”