Winter Storm Science

By Aidan Low

April 24, 2026

In late January, a major snowstorm hit the east coast of the U.S., and continued along the northern edge of the country. 

The storm that had passed in late January was one of the strongest in recent years. The blizzard, nicknamed "Winter Storm Fern," dropped its maximum of 13 inches of snow in Illinois. In this storm, 22 states, including Delaware, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland declared states of emergencies. President Trump had authorized 12 states to access federal resources as a disaster response.

This storm is rare in the way that the combination of multiple events happening at the same time made the storm so big. Jericho Middle School Earth and Space Science teacher Mr. Smith explained, "The storm picked up moisture from different locations, so it increased the size, then it moved across the country"

While this storm is the most powerful in recent history, it still falls into the back of the list of top 5 snowstorms in New York history, with the worst storm occurring on January 22nd 2016 and continuing until January 24th, dubbed "Winter Storm Jonas." Winter Storm Jonas dropped 27 inches of snow, bringing down trees and power lines under the weight of the snow.

Also, in 2006, the "North American blizzard of 2006" dropped just under 27 inches of snow, and ranked as the second most destructive snowstorm in New York.

Even though this storm didn't make it onto the top 5 worst snowstorms, it still cost the government almost 4 billion dollars nationwide and caused over 1 million power outages.