Neural Newscast

[00:00] Noah Feldman: From Neural Newscast, I'm Noah Feldman.
[00:03] Talia Brooks: And I'm Talia Brooks.
[00:04] Talia Brooks: Today is Monday, February 23rd, 2026.
[00:08] Noah Feldman: The Northeast is facing an extraordinary weather event this morning
[00:12] Noah Feldman: as a historic nor'easter lashes the region with heavy snow and fierce winds.
[00:17] Noah Feldman: Forecasters are calling this a super bomb, a term for a low-pressure system that intensifies
[00:22] Noah Feldman: with incredible speed, similar to a winter hurricane.
[00:26] Noah Feldman: We're seeing blizzard warnings for tens of millions of people, stretching from Delaware
[00:30] Noah Feldman: all the way to southeastern New England.
[00:33] Talia Brooks: The scale of this really is staggering, Noah.
[00:36] Talia Brooks: Meteorological reports indicate that this is likely the most powerful
[00:39] Talia Brooks: nor'easter to hit this part of the country in nearly a decade.
[00:44] Talia Brooks: We've already seen significant accumulation overnight,
[00:46] Talia Brooks: with 10 inches recorded in places like Manorville, New York and Howell, New Jersey.
[00:52] Talia Brooks: Experts at the National Weather Service are warning that some areas could see
[00:55] Talia Brooks: totals as high as 28 inches by the time the storm moves out later today.
[01:01] Noah Feldman: That intensity is exactly why we're seeing such aggressive emergency measures.
[01:06] Noah Feldman: In New York City, Mayor Zoran Mamdani has declared a state of emergency and issued a full travel ban.
[01:12] Noah Feldman: All streets, highways, and bridges are closed to non-emergency traffic until at least noon today.
[01:19] Noah Feldman: It's the first time in nine years the city has been under a blizzard warning,
[01:22] Noah Feldman: and the mayor is being very clear that New Yorkers need to stay home to avoid the treacherous conditions.
[01:28] Talia Brooks: And it isn't just the city, Noah.
[01:30] Talia Brooks: New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency for 22 counties
[01:35] Talia Brooks: and put 100 members of the National Guard on alert.
[01:39] Talia Brooks: In New Jersey, Governor Miki Sherrill described this as potentially the worst storm the state has seen since 1996.
[01:46] Talia Brooks: We're seeing similar actions from Governor Dan McKee in Rhode Island and Ned Lamont in Connecticut,
[01:52] Talia Brooks: where commercial vehicle travel has been completely halted on highways.
[01:56] Noah Feldman: The impact on infrastructure is already visible in the data.
[02:00] Noah Feldman: Nearly 90,000 properties in New Jersey lost power early this morning,
[02:04] Noah Feldman: with tens of thousands more outages reported in Delaware and Virginia.
[02:08] Noah Feldman: For anyone trying to travel, it's a standstill.
[02:11] Noah Feldman: FlightAware is reporting about 5,500 flight cancellations so far.
[02:15] Noah Feldman: with John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports being the hardest hit.
[02:19] Noah Feldman: It's a massive disruption to the region's transport network.
[02:22] Talia Brooks: While the physical infrastructure is struggling,
[02:25] Talia Brooks: the human element of this storm is equally complex.
[02:28] Talia Brooks: For many, staying home isn't just a safety recommendation.
[02:32] Talia Brooks: It's a financial challenge.
[02:34] Talia Brooks: I was looking at reports from residents in Brooklyn
[02:37] Talia Brooks: who expressed frustration because their jobs are still calling them in,
[02:41] Talia Brooks: despite the total suspension of the roads.
[02:44] Talia Brooks: It highlights the tension between public safety mandates and the reality of the service economy during extreme weather events.
[02:52] Noah Feldman: There is a unique workforce shift happening in the middle of the blizzard, though.
[02:56] Noah Feldman: New York City Comptroller Mark Levine announced that the city is hiring emergency snow shovelers
[03:01] Noah Feldman: to clear bus stops, crosswalks, and fire hydrants.
[03:04] Noah Feldman: They're paying $19.14 per hour, and Mayor Mamdani confirmed that over a thousand people
[03:10] Noah Feldman: have already been hired for this.
[03:12] Noah Feldman: It's a critical part of the recovery effort, but it's grueling work in temperatures dropping
[03:16] Noah Feldman: as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
[03:19] Talia Brooks: It's a necessary move when you consider the snowfall rates.
[03:23] Talia Brooks: The National Weather Service said we could see two to three inches per hour.
[03:27] Talia Brooks: When snow accumulates that fast, typical plowing and clearing can't keep up.
[03:32] Talia Brooks: The visibility is also a major factor, with winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour along the coast.
[03:39] Talia Brooks: It's creating those whiteout conditions that make it nearly impossible for even emergency vehicles to navigate safely.
[03:47] Noah Feldman: Beyond the immediate blizzard, Talia, there's a real concern for coastal flooding.
[03:52] Noah Feldman: Governor Hochul specifically suggested that residents on Long Island and flood-prone areas consider vacating.
[03:58] Noah Feldman: This isn't just a snow event. It's a coastal surge event, particularly in eastern Massachusetts,
[04:04] Noah Feldman: where beach erosion is expected to be significant during high tide.
[04:07] Talia Brooks: The storm is moving north toward Canada's maritime provinces as well.
[04:12] Talia Brooks: Nova Scotia is bracing for widespread outages and debris from wind damage.
[04:17] Talia Brooks: As we see these bomb site clones become more intense, it really forces a conversation about how our urban design and emergency protocols have to evolve.
[04:28] Talia Brooks: Two days ago, this was expected to be a routine February storm,
[04:32] Talia Brooks: but the forecast shifted dramatically in just 24 hours.
[04:37] Noah Feldman: It certainly serves as a reminder of how quickly these systems can intensify.
[04:41] Noah Feldman: We'll be monitoring the travel ban lift and the restoration of power throughout the day.
[04:45] Noah Feldman: From Neural Newscast, I'm Noah Feldman.
[04:48] Talia Brooks: And I'm Tellia Brooks.
[04:50] Talia Brooks: Stay safe and stay warm.
[04:52] Talia Brooks: Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed,
[04:57] Talia Brooks: View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.