A powerful bomb cyclone slammed the Northeast on Sunday into Monday, grounding thousands of flights, knocking out power to more than 600,000 customers, and burying parts of the region under nearly 3 feet of snow in what meteorologists are calling one of the strongest blizzards in years.
Airlines scrambled to recover Tuesday after more than 8,000 flights were canceled or delayed Monday as the massive winter storm barreled up the Eastern Seaboard.
On Monday alone, just over 19% of U.S. flights were canceled, far above the typical 1% daily rate. By Tuesday afternoon, cancellations had fallen to about 7%, according to Cirium, a flight analytics firm.
Carriers including United Airlines said they planned to ramp up operations, though they cautioned conditions remained difficult. Southwest Airlines said its plan "is on track to start ramping up operations tomorrow, if conditions permit us to safely do so."
The Dallas-based airline canceled about 7% of its flights Monday, less than some competitors due to its limited Northeast footprint.
American Airlines said it resumed operations at Washington's Reagan National and Philadelphia airports. Delta Air Lines and American both expected to restart flights at New York's LaGuardia and JFK airports and in Boston later Tuesday morning.
JetBlue was among the hardest hit, canceling roughly 80% of its flights Monday and about 1,600 flights through Wednesday.
Amtrak also canceled dozens of trains between New York and Boston and along other Northeast routes. Several states ordered residents to stay off the roads for nonessential travel.
The storm, which intensified rapidly and met the technical definition of "bombogenesis" after its central pressure plunged 39 millibars in 24 hours, produced hurricane-force wind gusts and blinding snow. Winds reached 83 mph in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Meteorologist Ryan Maue described the system as "a hurricane with snow," noting its lowest pressure of 966 millibars would qualify as a Category 2 hurricane if it were tropical.
Providence, Rhode Island, set an all-time snowfall record at 33.5 inches by midday Monday, surpassing a 1978 benchmark. Warwick, Rhode Island, recorded 36.2 inches. Central Park in New York logged more than 19 inches, while Philadelphia saw about 14 inches.
Forecasters called the storm "a classic in terms of not only the snowfall rates, but the intensity of the storm itself," with former National Weather Service director Louis Uccellini saying, "It was just an amazing storm system."
Officials urged caution as residents begin digging out.
Heavy, wet snow can be dangerous, with meteorologist Owen Shieh warning: "Just a word of caution for those who are going to be out shoveling the snow, that this will be easy to overexert yourself on. So take frequent breaks."
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