the January 2015 North American Blizzard

The January 2015 North American blizzard was a powerful and severe blizzard that dumped up to 3 feet of snowfall in parts of New England.

New England is a geographical region which comprises six states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds of at least 35 mph and lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically three hours or more.

January 2015 Winter Storm "Juno"...Blizzard in Maine by Capt. John's Bar

Originating from a disturbance just off the coast of the Northwestern United States on January 23, it initially produced a light swath of snow as it traveled southeastwards into the Midwest as an Alberta clipper on January 24–25.

An Alberta clipper is a fast moving low pressure area weather system which generally affects the central provinces of Canada, as well as parts of the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeastern United States regions, precipitating a sudden temperature drop and sharp winds.

The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the American Midwest or simply the Midwest, is one of the four geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, occupying the northern central part of the United States of America.

It gradually weakened as it moved eastwards towards the Atlantic Ocean, however, a new dominant low formed off the East Coast of the United States late on January 26, and rapidly deepened as it moved northeastwards towards southeastern New England, producing pronounced blizzard conditions.

The East Coast of the United States is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean.

The nor’easter then gradually weakened as it moved away into Canada.

The storm was also given unofficial names, such as Blizzard of 2015, and Winter Storm Juno.

The nor'easter disrupted transportation, with snow emergencies declared in six states and travel bans enacted in four of these states – Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island – as well as in New York City.

Massachusetts mass-ə-CHOO-sits; officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States.

The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States.

Most passenger rail service was suspended, and thousands of flights were cancelled.

Rail transport is a means of transferring of passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, also known as tracks.

Schools and activities saw weather-related cancellations for one or more days.

A weather-related cancellation or delay is closure, cancellation, or delay of an institution, operation, or event as a result of inclement weather.

Before the blizzard struck, meteorologists had been anticipating that the impending storm would be “historic” and “record-breaking”, with predictions of snowfall accumulations in major metropolitan areas such as New York City of up to 2–3 feet.

However, the predictions fell significantly short of what was anticipated, mainly due to a shift of the storm’s track, which cut down on the amount of snowfall.

In the aftermath of the storm, citizens criticised the local government for shutting down the subway system in New York City for the storm.