16 Images to Illustrate the Blizzard of 2015

By Andrea Thompson and Brian Kahn

City dwellers in New York hoping to wake up to mountains of snow will have to content themselves with trawling Instagram pictures from New England. The blizzard of 2015 — or really the #blizzardof2015 if we're doing this right — brought less snow than expected to New York City and a number of points south. But to the east on Long Island and north throughout New England, the storm has lived up to, and in some ways exceeded, expectations with heavy snow and coastal flooding.

Snow totals are still being updated but as of Tuesday morning, a National Weather Service weather spotter has reported the highest total from the storm so far, with 30 inches in Framingham, Mass. Other central Massachusetts and South Shore locations have also piled up more than 2 feet of snow.

The second-highest snow total comes 28.5 inches measured in Orient, N.Y., on the far eastern tip of Long Island. In both places, wind gusts are piling up drifts and sending snow cresting over the eaves of houses. 

9:15 AM - still coming down! @JimCantore just declared Shrewsbury the winner! #blizzardof2015#NECNSnowpic.twitter.com/LU5khjZ2cT

— Dale Martin (@DaleMartin70) January 27, 2015

@ericfisherhttps://t.co/faK2mJ4ORd Incredible wind here between 50-70 MPH; visibilities ~150'; pelting snow, etc. pic.twitter.com/tEenOnhHnu

— Matthew Cappucci (@MatthewCappucci) January 27, 2015

What would happen if I opened my slider door now? #Avalanche ��#Juno has no mercy in shrewsbury MA! @TheEllenShowpic.twitter.com/uAFp5YwTLs

— felecia (@feleciatigs) January 27, 2015

Boston has also received 14.5 inches and more than another foot of snow isn't out of the question for the city by the end of the day. Windblown snow drifts are starting to clog streets and bury cars across the city.

Hyde park. This is a street @pbouchardon7@jreineron7@clamberton7pic.twitter.com/baShA9QlkN

— phillip toti (@PhillipJ86) January 27, 2015

Probably a good thing for folks who decided to ski into work this morning like the staff at PRI's The World.

This is not a ski shop. It's how @pritheworld got to work in the #bostonblizzardpic.twitter.com/VUfXcxYA3f

— Jonathan Dyer (@dyerworld) January 27, 2015

The wintery conditions also made it ideal for Boston's local Yeti population to come out of hibernation. Photo evidence has emerged though researchers have yet to bring one in for testing.

The Boston Yeti enjoying early #juno2015#Snowmageddon2015#blizzardof2015#BostonYeti2015pic.twitter.com/M8sPBSPCGE

— Boston Yeti 2015 (@BostonYeti2015) January 27, 2015

Areas south of the city including Cape Cod and Nantucket received 12-20 inches of snow from the blizzard, but coastal flooding has caused far more damage to the region. Reports of 4-5 feet of storm surge have flooded streets, cut power to tens of thousands and damaged homes.

Streets of Scituate MA are underwater mixed with debris & chunks of slushy icebergs. #blizardof2015#WinterStormJunopic.twitter.com/z9RtQ6Dy67

— Dave Malkoff (@malkoff) January 27, 2015

Here is a deck relocation… NOT by choice off Gurnet Rd Duxbury. #masnow#blizzard2015#duxburypic.twitter.com/HTnWcfI5iq

— Duxbury Fire PIO (@DXFD_PIO) January 27, 2015

In comparison, New York and points south and west got off easy. The weather station in Central Park has recorded about 8 inches of snow while further south, Philadelphia received just 2 inches from the storm that some forecast to drop as much as 2 feet on the area. The initial forecast led to the unprecedented closing of the New York subway system due to winter weather and a travel ban after 11 p.m. on Monday. Those measures made for eerie photos of a rare empty New York City.

The impossibly quiet streets of Manhattan. Complete travel ban; roads & subway of #NewYorkCity#BIizzardof2015@CNNpic.twitter.com/f6hT152MQm

— Derek Van Dam (@VanDamCNN) January 27, 2015

A photo posted by 13thwitness (@13thwitness) on Jan 26, 2015 at 7:59pm PST

#blizzardof2015#coneyisland#Brooklyn#blizzardhttp://t.co/kFk2tfTHI4pic.twitter.com/Jk9D9NCFZT

— John Huntington (@jhuntington) January 27, 2015

Subway trains ran empty overnight, to ghostly effect, and normally bustling hubs were all but abandoned.

The F Train appears to be running, empty, in direction of Manhattan pic.twitter.com/VSjm1jroQt

— Andrew Rice (@riceid) January 27, 2015

From early this morning. RT @JamieStelter: Have you ever seen @GrandCentralNYC empty? Photo from the @MTA. #NY1snowpic.twitter.com/ndttOYizhp

— Pat Kiernan (@patkiernan) January 27, 2015

A rare sight earlier today: The George Washington Bridge (@PANYNJ_GWB) sans vehicles. http://t.co/CLFzig0kI3pic.twitter.com/IN47Tq1BWV

— Port Authority NY&NJ (@PANYNJ) January 27, 2015

But even if NYC didn't get the epic amounts of snow initially forecast, what snow did fall made for some very pretty sights.

The snow might be treacherous, but it sure is pretty. Central Park about 10 minutes ago. http://t.co/uZsLEcnk8M#NYCpic.twitter.com/DqNDZ7BpSV

— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) January 26, 2015

NYC whiteout #blizzardof2015@CentralParkNYCpic.twitter.com/IVu7qUkNPz

— Anthony Quintano (@AnthonyQuintano) January 26, 2015

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