The northeastern US states of New York and Rhode Island faced severe blizzards with “near impossible’ travel conditions on Monday, February 23.
Many areas saw over 20 inches snow. Almost all of New York City was covered in snow, and some of the counties in New York reported record snowfall, reaching as high as 24 inches in Richmond and Suffolk counties. Rhode Island also saw significant snowfall, with Gov. Dan McKee of Rhode Island declaring a state of emergency and a travel ban.
In New York, though the travel ban has now been lifted with conditions slightly improving, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged people to avoid travel unless it’s an emergency. So much snow has hit the city that city officials are paying volunteers up to $45 an hour to shovel snow.
Mamdani said city officials are “working nonstop to prepare our city for this blizzard and to keep New York running. This work has been a testament to the whole of government coming together to tackle a shared challenge.”
Here’s what to know on the snow totals of Rhode Island and New York.
New York Snow Totals
Some of the highest totals on February 23 in New York City were seen in Staten Island and Brooklyn. Grasmere in Staten Island recorded 24.1 inches of snowfall, while Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn saw 22.5 inches. Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx also logged near or above 20 inches in several neighborhoods.
Even higher accumulations were reported on Long Island, especially in Suffolk County, where Babylon measured 29.5 inches and Islip 29.1 inches – the highest on February 23. In Nassau County, snowfall ranged from 15 to 24 inches, with Lynbrook, Plainview, and East Meadow among the hardest hit.
Rhode Island Snow Totals
Rhode Island created a record in snowfall as Warwick recorded around 36.2 inches of snow, more than three feet, on Monday afternoon. This is the second-biggest snowstorm in Rhode Island after the February 1978 snowstorm that led to over 38 inches of snow in Woonsocket.
On Monday, Providence, the biggest city in Rhode Island, received around 32.9 inches of snow. Most other areas also received between 30 and 32 inches of snow as of Monday afternoon. More snow is expected through Monday and even on Tuesday.
Notably, unlike in New York, the travel ban in Rhode Island will continue into Tuesday, state officials said.
