The Bronx woke up today under heavy snow and whiteout conditions, as the city faces its first blizzard in a decade.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a local state of emergency Sunday night, restricting travel for non-emergency vehicles until noon on Monday, activating warming centers and mobilizing city agencies across the five boroughs.
By 7:15 a.m. Monday, 17.9 inches of snow had fallen in Mott Haven and 14.8 inches in Co-op City by 10:15 a.m., with additional accumulation expected through 6 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The totals have already surpassed the 13.5 inches recorded in Fordham during Winter Storm Fern.
The Bronx, Manhattan, and western Brooklyn are expected to see the heaviest snowfall, with up to 22 inches possible by the end of the storm, according to New York City Emergency Management. Wind gusts reached up to 61 miles per hour in Fordham by 6:30 a.m., contributing to near-zero visibility and hazardous road conditions across the borough.
🚨 Snow Update: NYC has already seen 14 to 20 inches of snow, with most areas reporting 16 to 19 inches.
Forecast: A lingering snow band is moving through Queens and Brooklyn, while the previous main band shifts over Staten Island. Another redeveloping band is expected from the…
— NYC Emergency Management (@nycemergencymgt) February 23, 2026
To account for the historic snowfall, Mamdani announced a rare snow day — not remote learning — marking the first full snow day since 2019.
Transit service has been significantly impacted. The 1, 4, 5, 6, B and D trains are running with severe delays in both directions and buses are operating with chains on their tires but at reduced frequency as drivers wait for streets to be plowed.
Officials urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel to allow emergency vehicles and sanitation crews to move freely.
Mamdani said the New York City Department of Sanitation deployed 2,300 plows and 700 salt spreaders citywide, with more than 2,600 sanitation workers operating on 12-hour shifts to clear highways, bus routes and residential streets.
After facing criticism over snow removal during Winter Storm Fern, the administration said it took additional steps ahead of this storm on Saturday. The city brought in outside mechanical snow-clearing equipment in advance and expanded geocoded tracking of bus stops, locations where unsheltered individuals gather, crosswalks and pedestrian ramps to speed up clearing efforts.
Officials also mandated that at least a four-foot path be cleared on sidewalks to accommodate wheelchairs and said agencies would pay increased attention to clearing fire hydrants, crosswalks and bus stops near city properties.
An enhanced Code Blue is now in effect as temperatures remain below freezing. The city is operating five 24-hour warming shelters in the Bronx for at-risk New Yorkers seeking refuge from the cold.
Those locations include NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, 1400 Pelham Parkway South; NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, 234 East 149th Street; NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx, 3424 Kossuth Avenue; and The Living Room Drop-In Center, 800 Barretto Street at Lafayette Avenue. All are open 24 hours a day.
Additional temporary warming shelters are open at DeWitt Clinton High School, 100 West Mosholu Parkway; Gompers Campus, 455 Southern Boulevard; and Stevenson Campus, 1980 Lafayette Avenue, operating from Sunday at 7 a.m. through Monday at 8 p.m.
A warming bus is stationed at 149th Street and Third Avenue from Sunday at 7 p.m. through Tuesday at 7 a.m. An additional overnight warming location is operating outside NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln near the emergency department entrance daily from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Officials said snow removal operations will continue around the clock as the storm moves through the region.
To receive up-to-date information, sign up for Notify NYC by texting ‘NOTIFYNYC’ to 692-692 to get citywide emergency updates.
Reach Marina Samuel at msamuel@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
