Northeast US scrambles to clear piles of snow as new storm descends on the region

NEW YORK (AP) — Snowplows cleared the way for ambulances and fire trucks in Rhode Island. New York City workers geared up to dump massive basins of warm water on piles of snow and ice. And in Boston, officials tried to clear sidewalks coated in packed snow that cut off access for people using wheelchairs.

The gigantic snowstorm this week across the Northeast U.S. dropped piles of powder from Maryland to Maine and left cities on Wednesday scrambling to clear towering heaps that were not showing signs of melting anytime soon.

By Tuesday evening, New York City had spread 143 million pounds (65 million kilograms) of salt, according to Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and signed up at least 3,500 people as emergency shovelers. The $30-per-hour shifts involve clearing snow across public streets and bus stops.

But with another storm expected Wednesday, there was plenty more work left to do, especially for the many people with disabilities.

Jeff Peters, spokesperson for the Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York, described parts of the city as impassable islands.

“You’ll find a portion of a sidewalk that is clear, and then there’s maybe a 6-inch (15-cm) pathway that can only be walked with one foot in front of the other and no room for a stroller, rollator, walker or crutches,” Peters said. “Then you get to the corner and not only is it unshoveled, but you have basically a glacier at the end of it.”

Tina Guenette, who uses a motorized wheelchair, had to shovel out her yard this week after more than 33 inches (84 centimeters) fell in Harrisville, Rhode Island, a town about 17 miles (27 kilometers) northwest of Providence.

“I really have no choice if my service dog wants to go outside,” Guenette said Tuesday. Harrisville has a volunteer snow-shoveling program, but it hasn't had volunteers for the last few years, she said.

The National Weather Service warned another storm originating in the Great Lakes could push into the Northeast on Wednesday. The clipper storm brings the prospect of a combination of rain and some snow, though it’s not forecast to be nearly as severe.

NYC Emergency Management warned Wednesday morning commuters that the forecast light snow and freezing temperatures could bring slick roads and sidewalks as well as black ice.

Monday’s storm blanketed the region with snow, canceled flights, disrupted transit, downed power lines and killed at least one person. More than 3 feet (0.9 meters) fell in Rhode Island — surpassing snow totals from the historic Blizzard of 1978 that struck the Northeast, the National Weather Service said.

Meteorologist Ryan Maue, former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said if all of the snow that fell from Maryland to Maine fell just on Manhattan, the snow would tower over a mile high.

In Newport, Rhode Island, Joseph Boutros, 21, was found unconscious inside a vehicle covered in snow Monday night, the city’s police department said in a statement. The Salve Regina University student was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead due to carbon monoxide poisoning, police said.

Some large school districts moved back to in-person classes on Wednesday, including Philadelphia, which had switched to online learning during the first two days of the week.

In New York City, more than 900,000 students in the nation’s largest public school system had a regular day Tuesday. Many students and their caregivers scrambled over mountainous snow banks and dodged salt spreaders during the morning drop-off.

Power had returned for many of the hundreds of thousands who had lost electricity in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island. But about 173,000 customers in Massachusetts were still without power early Wednesday.

Thousands of flights in and out of the U.S. have been canceled in recent days. By Wednesday, the disruptions seemed to be subsiding, with only around 150 grounded, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.

When Jamie Meyers' flight landed in New York from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday evening, the cabin full of relieved passengers burst into applause. The Manhattan resident was supposed to arrive home Sunday but faced a cancellation and significant delay.

The weather service referred to Monday’s storm as a “classic bomb cyclone/nor’easter off the Northeast coast.” A bomb cyclone happens when a storm’s pressure falls by a certain amount within a 24-hour period.

Golden reported from Seattle and Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz, Michael R. Sisak and Philip Marcelo in New York; Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania; Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed.

Key Lim, 55, of Quincy, removes snow from a sidewalk lined with trash bags in front of the laundromat that he manages on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Sophie Park)

A woman clears snow from a walk outside a preschool, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

A woman carries a child over piles of plowed snow as she walks a girl to school, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

A man walks a boy to school, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected in Israel on Wednesday for a two-day visit focusing on strengthening security, economic and technological cooperation between the two countries.

Modi has said he would hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog and would speak to Israeli parliament on Wednesday evening.

“Our nations share a robust and multifaceted Strategic Partnership,” Modi wrote on X. “Ties have significantly strengthened in the last few years.”

Netanyahu referred to himself and Modi as “personal friends” when he announced the visit earlier this week and the visit is likely to give Israel a boost of international support after seeing relations with many of its allies deteriorate since the war in Gaza began in October 2023.

In addition to being a powerful ally, India is also Israel's No. 2 trading partner in Asia. Total trade between India and Israel was valued at $3.62 billion in the 2025 fiscal year, according to India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Modi became India's first prime minister to travel to Israel in 2017, and Netanyahu reciprocated with a trip to India the following year.

Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting Sunday that economic and security issues will be high on the leaders' agenda, as will sharing technology, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

“We are partners in innovation, security, and a shared strategic vision," Netanyahu said on the social platform X ahead of Modi's arrival. “Together, we are building an axis of nations committed to stability and progress.”

Modi's embrace of Israel has marked a shift in India’s foreign policy. India has historically supported the Palestinians, and did not establish full diplomatic ties with Israel until 1992.

A staunch Hindu nationalist, Modi was one of the first global leaders to swiftly express solidarity with Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian militant Hamas group.

India was also among more than 100 countries earlier this month to condemn Israel's newly approved measures to deepen its control over the occupied West Bank and weaken the already limited powers of the Palestinian Authority.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives to receive Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for a delegation-level meeting at Hyderabad house in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)