Historic Blizzard Dumps Nearly 2 Feet of Snow Across Queens, Disrupts Transportation

A powerful nor’easter blanketed Queens with nearly two feet of snow over Sunday and Monday, marking the ninth largest snowstorm in New York City’s recorded history and forcing widespread closures across the region.

Whitestone recorded the deepest snowfall in Queens at 23 inches by 1:39 p.m. Monday, according to measurements from a member of the public reported to the National Weather Service. LaGuardia Airport followed closely with 22.5 inches recorded by an official NWS observer at 2 p.m., while Howard Beach saw 22 inches measured by a trained spotter at 3:30 p.m.

Kennedy Airport recorded 20.1 inches when the NWS measured at 2 p.m., with nearby areas including Elmhurst and Jackson Heights also seeing about 20 inches during the afternoon. South Jamaica posted 21 inches at 10:07 a.m., according to NWS data.

The bomb cyclone brought fierce winds alongside the heavy snow. The NWS recorded wind gusts of 64 mph in Kew Gardens Hills, 62 mph at Kennedy Airport, 52 mph at LaGuardia, and 50 mph at Breezy Point in the Rockaways.

Central Park’s official measurement of 19.7 inches at 2 p.m. Monday placed this storm as the ninth biggest in New York City’s recorded history, according to the NWS. The largest snowstorm on record brought 27.5 inches from January 22 to 24, 2016, followed by 26.9 inches on February 11 and 12, 2006.

The storm forced New York City schools to close Monday in the first genuine snow day without remote learning since 2019. According to Mayor Mamdani, the state Department of Education granted the city a waiver from the 180-day school year requirement to allow Monday’s closure. Schools reopened Tuesday, though Mamdani faced criticism for the decision.

Queens Library locations closed Monday and reopened Tuesday, while transportation systems experienced significant disruptions. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority warned of ongoing service changes across subways, buses, and commuter railroads.

“Some express trains are running local,” the MTA stated, advising riders to check the MTA app for impacts. Bus service faced delays as the agency removed articulated buses during the storm.

The Long Island Rail Road, which reduced service Sunday night and shut down completely at 1 a.m. Monday, planned to operate limited service beginning 4 a.m. Tuesday on the Ronkonkoma, Huntington, Babylon, Oyster Bay, Montauk, and Port Washington branches.

Air travel came to a standstill as thousands of flights were canceled. As of Monday morning, the Port Authority websites for Kennedy and LaGuardia showed no flights departing or arriving, with only some flights listed as delayed by Monday afternoon.

Power outages remained relatively limited across Queens, according to Con Edison’s website. The northwestern quadrant of the borough experienced the highest number of outages with 249 customers affected, while northern Queens had 30 customers without power.

The city suspended alternate-side parking from Monday through Saturday, February 28, to aid snow removal efforts.

While Queens received substantial snowfall, other regional areas faced even more severe conditions. Parts of Staten Island and Central Suffolk County recorded 29 to 30 inches of snow, according to the NWS, conditions that prompted coastal flood warnings for Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Montauk Point experienced an extreme wind gust of 84 mph during the storm.

The blizzard of 2026 joins a historic list of major snowstorms, with the earliest recorded major storm dating to March 12-14, 1888, when 21 inches fell across the city. This latest storm’s impact on transportation, schools, and daily life demonstrates the continuing vulnerability of the region’s infrastructure to severe winter weather events.