Snow drought over: NYC, DC blanketed by biggest storm in 2 years

Snow shovels have been gathering dust since 2022 in many cities along the Interstate 95 corridor, but the snowless streak has finally come to an end at the expense of travel delays and school cancellations.

"The streak has ended!" the National Weather Service (NWS) office in New York City said on Tuesday morning, when an inch of snow accumulated for the first time in 700 days, dating back to Feb. 13, 2022. As of 10 a.m. EST on Tuesday, there were more than 300 flight cancellations and over 700 delays between LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and John F. Kennedy airports, all located in the New York City area.

Silvestre, 6, of Washington, sleds over a snow bump on the hill at the U.S. Capitol, as schools are closed due to a winter storm, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Tuesday marked two years to the day since at least 1 inch of snow last fell in Washington, D.C., a streak that finally came to an end with the early week snow. An Earthcam on the Washington Monument captured the snowy scene, a rare sight in recent years.

While the early week system was far from a blockbuster snowstorm, it delivered enough fresh powder for some school districts to have a snow day, including around the Philadelphia area, where several inches of snow accumulated for the first time since Jan. 29, 2022.

AccuWeather meteorologists say that residents of these cities should not need to wait another 700 days to see snow again, as another storm is already on the horizon.

A storm swinging in from the central United States will deliver another round of snow to part of the Northeast into the end of the week. Similar to the early week snow, accumulations will be on the lighter side as opposed to a classic nor'easter, but enough snow may fall from Baltimore through Boston for folks to break out the snow shovels once again.

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