With 36 inches of snow in Rhode Island and 84 mph winds on Long Island, the “Great Blizzard of 2026” has officially rewritten the history books.

Breaking a 50-Year Legend
For decades, the “Blizzard of ’78” was the gold standard for winter fury in New England. Today, that legend was surpassed. Providence, Rhode Island, woke up to a staggering 36 inches of snow, a measurement that turns ordinary streets into impassable white canyons.

The storm, a classic “bomb cyclone,” deepened with terrifying speed off the coast, pulling in massive amounts of moisture and clashing with Arctic air to create a “snow engine” that didn’t stop for 24 hours.

Hurricane Winds in a Winter Wonderland
While Providence dealt with the weight of the snow, Montauk Point on the tip of Long Island faced the brute force of the wind. Gusts were clocked at 84 mph—surpassing hurricane-force thresholds.

The combination of these winds and heavy snow created “whiteout” conditions where visibility dropped to zero feet. Along the coast, the wind-driven surge sent freezing seawater into streets, encasing homes in eerie shells of ice and slush.

Life at a Standstill
Across the Northeast, the impact is total:

Travel: All major highways in Rhode Island and Connecticut remain closed. Even heavy-duty plows have been pulled off the roads in some areas until visibility improves.
Power: Over 400,000 customers are reportedly without electricity as the heavy, wet snow snapped limbs and brought down power lines.
Emergency Response: National Guard units have been deployed in Providence to assist with medical emergencies, using tracked vehicles to navigate the 3-foot drifts.
The Aftermath
As the storm pulls away toward the Maritimes, the cleanup begins. For the residents of the Northeast, 2026 will no longer be remembered for the cold—it will be remembered as the year they had to dig their way out of a storm that made 1978 look like a light dusting.