A sprawling winter storm turned the United States into a patchwork of buried towns and impassable highways, stretching from the high country of the Southwest to the rocky coastline of New England. While the system was unofficially branded a “monster” as it roared east, the real story emerged in the snowfall reports that trickled in once the skies cleared and the digging began. I set out to trace where the deepest drifts piled up and how those numbers fit into a broader pattern of increasingly disruptive winter weather.
What emerges from the early data is a corridor of heavy snow that cut across at least 19 states, with some communities measuring well over a foot in just a day or two. The biggest totals were not confined to one region, and the contrast between mountain resorts, small inland towns and dense cities helps explain why this storm felt so disruptive even in places used to harsh winters.
From Southwest peaks to New England hills, a swath of extreme totals
The storm’s footprint was national in scope, but the heaviest band of snow carved a diagonal path from the interior Southwest toward the Northeast. Reporting on preliminary measurements describes a corridor from the Southwest into New England, with at least 19 states topping 15 inches in spots. That kind of geographic reach is unusual even for a strong winter system, and it meant that ski towns, suburbs and rural valleys were all dealing with similar depths of snow despite very different climates and elevations. In parts of New Mexico and Colorado, the storm layered fresh powder onto already cold ground, while farther east it transformed normally slushy coastal events into full-scale blizzards.
Mountain communities were among the first to see the storm’s full force. High-elevation areas around Bonito Lake in New Mexico and resorts near Crested Butte in Colorado reported some of the most intense conditions, with deep snowpack building quickly on steep terrain. As of Monday, coverage of the storm highlighted that As of Monday the focus was on how these interior locations coped with heavy snow and single digit temperatures. A separate analysis of preliminary totals from New Mexico to Maine underscored that this was not a localized mountain event but a cross country system that dropped a foot or more of snow in at least 19 states from New Mexico to Maine.
Small towns, big numbers: where local records were challenged
Some of the most eye catching totals came not from major cities but from smaller communities that suddenly found themselves on national weather maps. In Massachusetts, state figures highlighted Sterling with 22.2 inches, while nearby New Hampshire saw 21 inches in Stratham. Those numbers put these towns near the top of statewide rankings and illustrate how the storm’s snow band aligned with interior New England rather than hugging the immediate coast. In New York, 22 inches in West Shokan were part of a broader swath of heavy snow that also affected nearby communities such as Napanoch, where narrow roads and hilly terrain made cleanup especially difficult.
Across the border in Vermont and New Hampshire, the same band of moisture collided with entrenched cold air. Local reports from Winter Storm Fern described about a foot or more of snow across Windham County, with residents still shoveling on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. To the east, inland communities like Simsbury in Connecticut and Newton in New Hampshire also reported significant accumulations, reflecting how the storm’s heaviest snow favored slightly inland valleys rather than the immediate shoreline. Along the coast, towns such as Kittery still saw disruptive snow, but totals generally trailed the interior hotspots that briefly turned into snow capitals.
Big cities dig out as climate questions loom
Major metropolitan areas also found themselves under unusually deep snow, magnifying the storm’s impact on transportation and daily life. In New England’s largest city, officials confirmed that Here Boston recorded 23.2 inches, a total that shut down schools, slowed transit and turned familiar streets into narrow snow canyons. Farther south and west, cities such as Pittsburgh also contended with heavy snow and hazardous travel, while the East Village neighborhood of The East Village in New York City saw streets transformed into windblown tunnels. Live coverage framed the event as a Historic Blizzard Hits, with Massive Power Outages and a sprawling WINTER STORM affecting millions along the Eastern Seaboard.
Behind the dramatic images, scientists and forecasters are already parsing what this storm says about a warming climate that can still deliver intense snow. Analyses of the event emphasize that Over the weekend, the system tapped into abundant Gulf and Atlantic moisture, then collided with entrenched Arctic air to produce prolific snowfall rates. Coverage of the broader pattern notes that Bonito Lake, New and other interior locations endured not just deep snow but a week with single digit temperatures, a combination that stresses infrastructure and raises the risk of prolonged outages. When I look across the map, from Jennerstown in Pennsylvania to coastal towns in Maine, it is clear that the biggest totals are only part of the story; the real measure of this storm is how widely it tested the country’s ability to function when the snow just keeps coming.
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