Late February blizzard blasts the Northeast, piling on more winter weather, while municipalities put into action better snow management.
PHILADELPHIA – Mother Nature has made it clear [that] winter is not over yet,” proclaimed Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker before a blizzard that turned into a bomb cyclone and traveled the northeastern part of the United States. The cautionary statement proved right.
Mayors from the Washington, D.C., metro area to New England issued official emergency declarations ahead of the extreme snowfall and intense winds that hit Sunday afternoon. In some areas hit by the storm, reports indicated up to 2 inches of snow per hour. By Monday morning, cities and small towns along the eastern seaboard woke up to a thick blanket of mid-winter whiteout.
Unlike last month’s snowstorm, cities, as a collective, were more prepared in the region.
In January, freezing flurries fell in acutely frigid temperatures, causing thick ice blocks to form on roads and streets, which were caked with sheets of frozen water. The Parker Administration in Philadelphia received multiple complaints from residents about the lack of snow removal or botched snow removal services. A City Hall insider told Ark Republic that that was because of a failure to properly budget for winter with significant snow.
Climate change be damned this time around. As talks of blizzard warnings increased, Mayor Parker announced early on Sunday the closure of Philadelphia’s city offices, except for essential workers. The schoolhouses also scheduled a snow day. A staffer detailed snow-removal logistics and asked Philadelphians to stay off roads and to move their cars to areas where haulers could clear snow from the municipality’s main thoroughfares.
In Newark, New Jersey, the previous cleanup after a brittle-cold storm received a thumbs-down. Citygoers blasted the Ras Baraka Administration for plow operators burying cars, blocking driveways, and clearing sidewalks. In response to this bombogenesis, Baraka asked residents who usually park on the street to use school parking lots during the snowstorm. He also assured that emergency workers had dipped into the city’s salt mine reserves to coat the streets before and after icy conditions.
Newly sworn-in New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, issued a curfew that ends at 3PM on Monday. Expecting a massive maintenance effort, the progressive Democrat asked New Yorkers to sign up as emergency snow shovelers to clear out bus stops. Of course, as he put it, it would be a way to “earn extra cash.” New York’s Gov. Kathy Hochul has deployed 100 National Guard members for the storm
In the nation’s capital, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office posted a plan to ensure that the city ran smoothly, and Boston announced that much of the city-flow would probably be on pause for several days as it recovered.
Across the northeast, travel restrictions and bans were enforced. Amtrak closed some of its main lines on the Northeast Corridor.
Even though New York advised leaving home only for emergencies or as an essential worker, videos show some New Yorkers trapped on icy highways without the winter tires needed to drive on slippery roads. In Brooklyn alone, reports of 15 inches have dropped by 10:30 AM on Monday.
In Massachusetts, news reports hundreds of vehicles stranded, while in Rehoboth, Delaware, 21 inches of snow have fallen. Most of the snow is on the coastal parts of the states impacted.
While some residents are slowly digging themselves out of feet-high snowdrifts that have buried SUVs, the region is preparing for more snow this week.
