Blizzard of ‘26: A historic blizzard has struck Massachusetts, closing the College

By Maddi Achtyl

Massachusetts was hit with a historic Nor’easter blizzard, closing schools, causing power outages, and making travel dangerous.

Photo Credit: Kaya DeAngelis '26

Stonehill College canceled classes Monday and Tuesday, joining many schools in New England that canceled in-person operations due to the storm.

Boston is expected to get more than a foot of snow; some areas in Southeastern Massachusetts are going to see more than 2 feet, NBC10 Boston reported.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced a travel ban across the South Coast of Massachusetts. Non-essential motor vehicle travel was prohibited in Bristol County, Plymouth County, and Barnstable County, effective immediately. The travel ban was limited to the South Coast, but the governor urged everyone to stay off the roads for their safety and the safety of the plow drivers and emergency officials who are trying to do their jobs.

The storm already broke the snowfall record in Providence previously set by the Blizzard of '78, nearing 3 feet of snow, NBC10 Boston reported. It is expected that this storm will be a historic one for the Boston area as well.

Photo Credit: Maddie Darmstadt '26

As of 3 p.m. on Monday, WCVB5 reported that Easton received about 21.5 inches of snow.

In a press conference on storm updates at the Emergency Operations Center in Framingham on Monday afternoon, the governor warned it could take days to restore power and clean up from the storm. Strong winds were limiting power crews’ ability to restore power and plow crews’ ability to keep up with the heavy snowfall, she said.

The state was experiencing damaging winds of up to 83 mph in areas south of Boston. NBC Boston reported that there are 250 abandoned vehicles across the state and 300,000 people without power.

Many colleges and public schools already canceled classes for Tuesday, including Bridgewater State University, West Bridgewater Public Schools, and Brockton Public Schools.

Across campus, staff can be seen hard at work clearing paths for students, but many, especially those in the Junior and Senior courts, were snowed in due to the rapid snowfall.

Casey Rice '27 trudges through Junior Courts to get to the Commons (photo by Annie Renz '27)