The National Weather Service issued a Blizzard Warning for the New York City area from Sunday morning through Monday afternoon on February 21, 2026, forecasting 13-18 inches of snow with rates up to 2+ inches per hour and wind gusts of 45-55 mph, according to an updated advisory shared by NYC Councilmember Mark Levine between 12:15 PM and 3:15 PM UTC. The warning, described as a rare move, predicts dangerous to impossible travel conditions and possible power outages during the nor'easter, as stated in the NWS advisory reposted by Levine. This follows the NWS New York office's upgrades of Winter Storm Watches to Blizzard Warnings along the coast and Winter Storm Warnings elsewhere between 10:45 AM and 11:45 AM UTC. Meteorologist @burgwx reported extremely impressive forcing for a slow-moving snow band with rates over 2-4 inches per hour during the reporting window, noting potential for a 24-36 inch snow contour in New Jersey and/or eastern Pennsylvania if trends hold. The prior warnings for New York City, Long Island, southeast New York, and southern Connecticut align with these expectations of 13-18 inches and gusts up to 55 mph from Sunday 6:00 AM to Monday 6:00 PM UTC.
