PICTURED: Snowed-In Homeowners Take Drastic Action To Escape Their Houses After Blizzard Slams the East Coast

The weather outside was indeed frightful in the final week of February. Across the East Coast, from Boston to the Jersey Shore, homeowners woke up to mountains of snow piled against their front doors.

Literally.

Social media quickly filled with photos showing just how much snow had accumulated outside entryways after many cities were buried under 2 to 3 feet of snowfall.

Some residents grabbed shovels and dug their way out. Others shut their doors and waited for nature to take its course. Either way, the images tell the story of the historic Blizzard of 2026.

Snowed in by Winter Storm Hernando

Rhode Island and Massachusetts were hit hardest by Winter Storm Hernando on Monday.

The highest snow total reported was 37.9 inches in Kent County,RI, according to National Weather Service data as of Tuesday morning. Providence, RI, recorded 37 inches, while Bristol, MA, and Plymouth,MA, each saw exactly 3 feet of snow.

In the New York tri-state area, the largest accumulations were reported on Long Island and in parts of New Jersey, where many towns received 30 inches or more. The storm ranked as the ninth-largest snowfall on record in Central Park, which recorded 19.7 inches, while Manhattan averaged 22.8 inches.

Philadelphia picked up 16 inches during the blizzard. But Boston topped major metros, recording 31.8 inches.

The task of shoveling out

With snow falling fast and piling up even faster, many homeowners opened their front doors to find drifts pressed directly against them.

Viral videos captured the slow, painstaking process of tunneling through snowbanks from inside foyers and entryways, turning doorways into icy escape routes.

Whether shoveling the walk or out of your home, experts agree that you need to pace yourself. 

“Shoveling snow is tougher on the body than most people realize,” Gene Caballero, co-founder of GreenPal in St. Petersburg, FL, explained to Realtor.com® recently. 

Cold air can also trigger bronchospasm, leading to asthma-like breathing difficulties. Beyond cardiovascular strain, slips and falls are also a major concern. 

That said, moving the snow away from the entryways of your home is important before the snow starts melting, to avoid any potential flooding into your home. 

Power is still out

The power crisis across the Northeast is entering day three, with outages impacting nearly 200,000 customers, according to data from PowerOutage.com. Massachusetts remains the hardest hit with over 163,000 outages still reported.  

“I always advise homeowners to take proactive steps to make their homes more resilient to power outages,” Kyle Bazylo, real estate expert at Selling South Winnipeg explained to Realtor.com recently. “With unpredictable weather events and aging power grids, it’s essential to be prepared.”

Apart from flashlights, candles, and a fresh supply of batteries, a portable power station is an excellent item to have on hand if you are concerned about power outages. While these can be pricey (anywhere from around $700 to several thousand dollars), they are reliable and don’t use gas the same way most generators do.