Across the densely populated Northeast, a “classic” nor’easter transformed the megalopolis into a monochromatic winter wilderness. In city centers, cars sat entombed under layered cakes of snow; in residential neighborhoods, local parks were indistinguishable from upstate ski resorts.
At the height of the whiteout, the world narrowed to a few feet of visibility, erasing buildings and people mere feet away. The wind treated the heavy, wet snow like torn tissue paper, scouring the landscape and plastering the windward faces of buildings in a thick, frozen frosting.
Those who ventured out moved at a tilt, shielding their eyes and leaning their entire weight into gusts that turned a simple walk into a slog through deep-sifting drifts. The records fell as fast as the flakes. In Providence, R.I., the storm didn’t just break benchmarks — it shattered them, dropping more snow in 13 hours than previous historic systems managed to accumulate over days.
Even in New York City, where a string of mild winters had softened the memory of a true nor’easter, the accumulation at Central Park, nearly 20 inches, climbed into the all-time top 10.
This is what it looked like on the ground.
Judson Jones is a meteorologist and reporter for The Times who forecasts and covers extreme weather.
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