Category: New Jersey News

  • Philly got its biggest snow in 10 years. This time nature will help with the cleanup.

    Philly got its biggest snow in 10 years. This time nature will help with the cleanup.

    If it wasn’t an actual blizzard, Philly’s biggest snowfall in a decade sure acted like one, and the weather the rest of this week isn’t expected to be particularly pleasant.

    But in terms of disruption — not to mention aesthetics — this was in a wholly different category from the Jan. 25 siege of snow and ice. And the aftermath should not be anywhere near as punitive and burdensome.

    Although the 14 inches measured officially at Philadelphia International Airport, dwarfed the 9.3 inches of snow and sleet that accumulated in last month’s storm, Zach Schwartz, 33, was among those who found the picturesque snow more palatable than the attack of ice balls and an Arctic freeze.

    “The last snowstorm was a tough time for everyone,” said Schwartz, who was at a Point Breeze playground helping a friend build an igloo for their kids, “and I think the city was kind of in shock a little bit.”

    The most recent storm, which left as much as 20 inches of snow in parts of South Jersey and southeastern Bucks County, did cause some issues.

    More than 130,000 households lost power at some point. Scores of trees came down as the snow, heavy and wet at the start, glommed onto branches that took beatings from the winds that gusted past 40 mph.

    The storms closed schools to the chagrin of hundreds of thousands of learning-eager children, and museums on Monday. It disrupted SEPTA services and airport operations.

    At least 87 trees across the city were downed as a result of the storm as of Monday afternoon, and the city was working to determine which ones to prioritize clearing first, Parks and Recreation commissioner Susan Slawson said.

    Mayor Cherelle L. Parker advised Philadelphians to avoid unnecessary travel as crews worked to clear the streets.

    Yet early fears that the snowfall would reach what the National Weather Service called “potentially historic” levels didn’t quite materialize, and it was not known if the storm had met “blizzard” criteria. Stopping short of “historic,” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill called it “a generational storm.”

    This one likely won’t have the staying power of last month’s storm

    While the volume of snow is formidable, road crews throughout the region now have a tremendous ally — the late-February sun.

    The city did adjust its response after the prior storm cleanup left many residents chock-full of complaints. Director of Clean and Green Initiatives Carlton Williams said Monday instead of one snow melter, the city secured three, with two already on the road Monday, despite the much shorter notice of the storm.

    But the big melter is in the sky.

    The amount of solar energy beaming toward Philadelphia is more than 35% stronger than it was on Jan. 25, according to NASA’s figures, and blacktop is great absorber of sunlight. Plus the region now is getting an hour more of daylight.

    Plus, instead of an Arctic freeze, it is forecast to be moderately cold this week, with highs in the low 30s Tuesday, and in the 40s Wednesday and Thursday.

    A weak clipper could produce an inch or less of snow early Wednesday, but, sorry kids, that won’t be another school-closer. More light rain or snow or a mix is possible Thursday.

    Computer models on Monday were seeing a potential for more snow early next week, but they may well sober up come Tuesday.

    After the Jan. 25 storm, Philly had 18 consecutive days of at least 3 inches on the ground officially at the airport, the longest stretch in 65 years. That streak won’t be challenged this time around.

    One other huge difference: Those 14 inches didn’t include a speck of ice, which, as we learned, is amazingly melt-resistant.

    Why snow totals varied tremendously

    The nor’easter that generated the snow did qualify as a “bomb cyclone,” said Tom Kines, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. The technical criteria aside, a bomb cyclone is particularly powerful storm.

    In fact, the storm’s intensity, based on a measure of its central pressure, was equal to that of a Category 1 hurricane, he added.

    Fortunately, the Shore escaped major flooding, but the winds circulating around the storm’s center over the ocean hurled back snow far inland.

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    South Jersey locations received the most, along with areas in southeastern Bucks County. However, totals backed off precipitously to the west.

    “There was a really tight gradient,” said Amanda Lee, a weather service meteorologist in Mount Holly. All areas in Philly’s neighboring Pennsylvania counties did report at least several inches of snow.

    Within that broad east-west divide, however, amounts varied considerably from place to place, due in part to “banding,” in which narrow corridors of snow, caused by rapidly rising air, migrate from place depositing rapidly accumulating snow to areas underneath.

    Conversely, areas on either side of the band are snow-deprived.

    As to whether this qualified as Philadelphia’s first blizzard in 33 years, that is a verdict deferred.

    By the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s decree, a blizzard requires “frequent winds of 35 mph or higher with considerable falling and/or blowing snow that frequently reduces visibility to 1/4 of a mile or less. These conditions are expected to prevail for a minimum of 3 hours.”

    That’s a lot to ask for a snowstorm, and it is going to take considerable forensic work of poring through observations to determine whether those conditions were met in Philadelphia or elsewhere in the region, said Nick Guzzo, a weather service meteorologist in Mount Holly.

    Another big difference between this and the January storm

    Whatever else it is called, this was the most spectacularly beautiful snowfall of the season, thanks to the snow’s remarkable adhesive power.

    On the morning of Jan. 26 the trees were bare, as though they wanted no part of the snow and ice-ball assault.

    On Monday this time around, snow enchanted the branches and uncannily worked its way into architectural details.

    Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock said his town, famous for its Victorian buildings, “looks beautiful” covered in the foot of snow that had fallen.

    Said Mullock, “It looks like a snow globe.”

    Staff writers Ximena Conde, Kristen A. Graham, Michelle Myers, Amy S. Rosenberg, Henry Savage, and Nick Vadala contributed to this article.

  • Philly schools will remain virtual on Tuesday; other Pa. and N.J. districts are a mixed bag

    Philly schools will remain virtual on Tuesday; other Pa. and N.J. districts are a mixed bag

    School districts around the region made varying calls for how they’re handling classes Tuesday as the region continues to dig out from the massive snowstorm that dumped more than a foot of snow in many places — with some closed altogether, others fully open, and others open, but delayed.

    The Philadelphia School District opted for another day of virtual instruction.

    Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. has said the nation’s eighth-largest school system favors in-person instruction, but places student and staff safety as its highest priority.

    In Upper Darby, Delaware County, Superintendent Dan McGarry made the call to bring students in on time.

    “The district transportation team and facilities team have been working hard all day to clear snow from our facilities for in-person instruction,” McGarry wrote in a message to families and staff. “We have been in communication with the township as well, and I want to thank them for their hard work getting roads clear for school tomorrow.”

    Districts including Council Rock and Pennridge, both in Bucks County, called two hour delays.

    In Montgomery County, Cheltenham and Lower Merion schools both announced a two-hour delay.

    “Buses are expected to arrive at bus stops two hours after their normal pickup times; however, please be patient as snow and ice on some streets may cause additional delays,” Lower Merion spokesperson Amy Buckman said in a message to families Monday evening.

    Cherry Hill and Moorestown, in Camden County, will also hold classes with a two-hour delay.

    Renewed debate over virtual instruction in New Jersey

    And while some Pennsylvania districts pivot to virtual instruction when significant snow falls, that’s not possible in New Jersey, where state law prevents it.

    A handful of New Jersey districts opted for total closures. Lenape Regional, Evesham, and Medford schools, all in Burlington County, cancelled classes altogether.

    Winslow schools in Camden County will remain closed Tuesday for a second consecutive day, said interim Superintendent Mark Pease. The district was shut down for three days during the last storm.

    Pease said the district would use two days from its spring in April to make up the missed days. The break will be cut to three days, he said.

    “If we get another storm, we will be extending the school year,” Pease said. “Let’s hope this is it for the winter.”

    The snow storm renewed calls among some New Jersey educators to the state to allow virtual and hybrid instruction to avoid closing schools due to inclement weather.

    In a social media post, Camden Education Association President Pam Clark said she was asking Gov. Mikie Shirrell to revisit the virtual option for traditional public schools. She used the hashtag “not fair.”

    New Jersey allowed virtual and hybrid instruction when the pandemic shut down schools.

    However, state law now strictly limits remote learning, according to the state Department of Education. Districts must meet a state requirement of 180 days.

    School districts may seek approval for virtual learning for school closures lasting more than three consecutive days because of a declared state of emergency or a declared public health emergency.

    There has been pushback against virtual learning because of concerns about learning loss suffered during the pandemic. There also are concerns that some schools don’t have enough Chromebooks or devices for students to log on.

    Timothy Purnell, executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association, said districts should have the flexibility to pivot when circumstances warrant such as a snow day.

    Districts have invested in technology and training to successfully implement virtual instruction, he said.

    “Limiting virtual instruction days exclusively to public health emergencies is yesterday’s logic,“ Purnell said in a statement.

  • Coast Guard investigating swastika drawn in men’s bathroom at Cape May facility

    Coast Guard investigating swastika drawn in men’s bathroom at Cape May facility

    The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating an incident in which a swastika was reportedly drawn on a bathroom wall at the Coast Guard’s training center in Cape May.

    “Following discovery of a hate symbol drawn on a bathroom wall in a building at Training Center Cape May, the Coast Guard immediately referred the matter to the Coast Guard Investigative Service for investigation — consistent with longstanding Coast Guard policy. This hate symbol was immediately removed,” a spokesperson for the service branch said in an email Monday.

    The Washington Post first reported on Monday that the hate symbol — which the Coast Guard did not specify —was a hand-drawn swastika that was discovered Thursday evening in the men’s bathroom.

    Adm. Kevin Lunday, the Coast Guard commandant, was informed about the incident on Saturday, the Post reported.

    “The Commandant immediately traveled to Training Center Cape May and held a mandatory All Hands with the nearly 900 recruits and staff to address the incident directly, reinforce the Coast Guard’s strong standards and policies, and reaffirm the Service’s dedication to accountability through our core values,” the Coast Guard spokesperson said.

    In a statement, Lunday declared: “Anyone who adheres to or advances hate or extremist ideology — get out. Leave. You don’t belong in the United States Coast Guard and we reject you.”

    Lunday added: “We will not allow anyone to put a stain of hate on our United States Coast Guard. We will not be defined by the cowardly acts, but instead be defined by our unwavering response and our resolve to defeat them.”

    The spokesperson said that the Coast Guard is “committed to maintaining a workplace that is safe, professional, and respectful for every member of our workforce. Any behavior that undermines these standards will be addressed swiftly and seriously.”

    Late last year, the Post reported that the Coast Guard had planned to downgrade swastikas and nooses in its workplace harassment manual as being “potentially divisive” rather than hate symbols.

    In December, Lunday announced that the revisions were “completely removed” from the policy manual and that swastikas and nooses would still be considered overt hate symbols, the Post reported.

  • Philly snow totals: How much fell in the Philadelphia area?

    Philly snow totals: How much fell in the Philadelphia area?

    More than a foot of snow fell overnight across the Philadelphia region, though the Jersey Shore was hit hardest by a powerful winter storm and blizzard-like winds.

    “I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this since 1996,” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said during an interview Monday morning, calling it the “storm of a generation.”

    Due to heavy snow bands, the totals varied widely. Ten inches of snow were recorded in Boothwyn Monday morning, while 22.1 inches came down in Langhorne, Bucks County.

    In Central Delaware, 20.5 inches fell in Woodside, while across the river 17 inches dropped overnight in Lindenwold, Camden County.

    Officially, 14 inches fell at Philadelphia International Airport.

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    Here are the latest snowfall totals from the National Weather Service, measured by trained spotters or observed by the service itself:

    Pennsylvania

    Philadelphia

    • Fox Chase: 14.8 in (11 a.m.)    
    • Philadelphia International Airport: 14 in (1 p.m.)
    • Rockledge: 13.8 (7 a.m.)

    Delaware County

    • Swarthmore: 12 in (10:31 a.m.)
    • Chadds Ford: 11.5 in (10 a.m.)
    • Clifton Heights: 10.5 in (9:30 a.m.)
    • Boothwyn: 10.0 in (5:15 a.m.)
    • Chadds Ford Twp: 9.8 in (2 a.m.)
    • Lima: 8.8 in (5:35 a.m.)
    • Media: 7.8 in (10:15 a.m.)  

    Chester County

    • Paoli: 9.8 in (11:30 a.m.)
    • East Nantmeal Twp: 9.5 in (8 a.m.)   
    • West Chester: 8 (7:30 a.m.)   
    • East Nottingham Twp: 7.5 (7:55 a.m.)        
    • SE Exton: 7.0 in (12:39 a.m.)   
    • West Caln Twp: 6.5 in (8:30 a.m.)
    • Wickerton: 6 in (7:30 a.m.)
    • East Coventry Twp: 5.5 in (9:20 a.m.)

    Montgomery County

    • Norristown: 13.4 in (10:25 a.m.)
    • Willow Grove: 13.2 in (6:45 a.m.)
    • Skippack: 12.8 in (11:50 a.m.)
    • Fort Washington: 12 in (8 a.m.)
    • Green Lane: 11.4 in (9:15 a.m.)
    • Elkins Park: 10.5 in (9:15 a.m.)
    • Glenside: 10.5 in (7 a.m.)
    • Penn Wynne: 10.5 in (7 a.m.)
    • Willow Grove: 10 in (7 a.m.)
    • Gilbertsville: 9 in (8:30 a.m.)
    • Jenkintown: 8.5 in (8 a.m.)
    • Conshohocken: 8.4 in (8:42 a.m.)
    • Hatfield: 8 in (8:42 a.m.)
    • King of Prussia: 8 in (9 a.m.)
    • Royersford: 8 in (9 a.m.)
    • Collegeville: 7 in (9 a.m.)
    • Salford Twp: 6.8 in (9 a.m.)
    • Stowe: 4.1 in (9:18 a.m.)

    Bucks County

    • Langhorne: 22.1 in (9 a.m.)  
    • Richboro: 22 in (11 a.m.)  
    • Morrisville: 21 in (8 a.m.)            
    • Fairless Hills: 20.5 in (6:30 a.m.)
    • Croydon: 18 in (8 a.m.)                   
    • Levittown: 15.0 in (3:53 a.m.)  
    • Warminster: 13.5 in (5:40 a.m.)       
    • Fricks: 11.7 in (noon)      
    • Souderton:  9.2 in (7 a.m.)        
    • East Rockhill Twp: 8.5 in (6:30 a.m.)    
    • Chalfont: 7.3 in (6:50 a.m.) 

    New Jersey

    Atlantic County

    • Mays Landing: 19 in (12:55 p.m.)
    • Minotola: 17 in (11 a.m.)
    • Atlantic City International Airport: 16.9 in (1 p.m.)
    • Buena Vista Twp.: 16.5 in (12:30 p.m.)
    • Egg Harbor Twp: 14 in (11 a.m.)
    • Brigantine: 12.5 in (8 a.m.)
    • Estelle Manor: 10.5 in (8 a.m.)
    • Hammonton: 8.2 in (7:45 a.m)

    Burlington County

    • Mount Laurel: 20.6 in (1:05 p.m.)
    • Columbus: 20.5 in (12:45 p.m.)
    • Leisuretown: 20.3 in (10:07 a.m.)
    • Mount Holly: 20.3 in (1 p.m.)
    • South Jersey Regional Airport: 20.3 in (11:30 a.m.)
    • Pemberton: 20 inches (noon)
    • Moorestown: 19.5 in (11:20 a.m.)
    • Lake Pine: 19.2 in (9 a.m.)
    • Westampton: 19.2 in (7 a.m.)
    • Mansfield Twp: 19 in (7 a.m.)
    • Medford Twp: 18 in (5:20 a.m.)
    • Hainesport: 17.8 in (8 a.m.)
    • Rancocas: 17.4 in (8 a.m)
    • Burlington Twp: 17.0 in (7 a.m.)
    • Medford: 16.8 in (8:35 a.m.)
    • Moorestown Twp: 16.7 in (7:30 a.m.)
    • Delanco: 16.2 in (12:30 p.m.)
    • Maple Shade: 16 in (7:30 a.m.)
    • Evesham: 12.3 in (7 a.m.)

    Camden County

    • Lindenwold: 17 in (10 a.m.)
    • Barrington: 16.5 in (6:30 a.m.)
    • Haddon Heights: 15 in (12:02 p.m)
    • Mt. Ephraim: 15 in (7 a.m.)
    • Haddon Township: 14 in (10:15 a.m.)
    • Winslow Twp: 9.5 in (7 a.m.)

    Gloucester County

    • Pitman: 21.5 in (11:30 a.m.)
    • Monroe Twp: 19 in (9 a.m.)
    • Glassboro: 17 in (8:45 a.m.)
    • Washington Twp: 16 in (6 a.m.)
    • Franklin Twp: 14.3 in (7:30 a.m.)
    • East Greenwich Twp: 14 in (5:45 a.m.)
    • Williamstown: 10.3 in (8 a.m.)

    Monmouth County

    • Colts Neck: 24.1 in (1:15 p.m.)
    • Howell: 24 in (noon)
    • Manalapan Township: 21 in (10:30 a.m.)
    • Centerville: 20.5 in (8:30 a.m.)
    • Ocean Twp: 18 in (noon)
    • West Long Branch: 16 in (7:45 a.m.)
    • Red Bank: 14.3 in (7:30 a.m.)

    Ocean County

    • Jackson: 25.2 in (1 p.m.)
    • Toms River: 23.5 in (10:45 a.m.)
    • Manchester Twp: 18 in (6:30 a.m.)
    • Manahawkin: 18 in (10:30 a.m.)
    • Tuckerton: 16 in (8:30 a.m.)
    • Berkeley Twp: 14 in (7 a.m.)
    • Beachwood: 13.5 in (7:30 a.m.)
    • Point Pleasant Beach: 11.5 in (7 a.m.)
    • Barnegat Twp: 10.4 in (7:45 a.m.)

    Salem County

    • Monroeville: 18 in (8 a.m.)
    • Olivet: 16 in (11 a.m.)
    • Upper Pittsgrove Twp: 11.5 in (9:15 a.m.)

    Delaware

    New Castle County

    • Hockessin: 10 in (5:55 a.m.)
    • Holiday Hills: 8.3 in (2:10 a.m.)
    • New Castle County Airport: 8.3 in (7 a.m.)
    • Wilmington: 8 in (7 a.m.)
    • Newport: 7.2 in (7 a.m.)
    • Marshallton: 6.3 in (9:30 a.m.)
    • Newark: 5.5 in (7:30 a.m.)

    Staff writers Anthony R. Wood and Amy S. Rosenberg contributed to this report.

  • Philly snow updates: City schools will be virtual Tuesday; city offices and courts will be open

    Philly snow updates: City schools will be virtual Tuesday; city offices and courts will be open


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 7:25pm

    Philly got its biggest snow in 10 years. This time nature will help with the cleanup.

    Sean Little of the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation shovels snow along the sidewalks on Race Street on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026.

    If it wasn’t an actual blizzard, Philly’s biggest snowfall in a decade sure acted like one, and the weather the rest of this week isn’t expected to be particularly pleasant.

    But in terms of disruption — not to mention aesthetics — this was in a wholly different category from the Jan. 25 siege of snow and ice. And the aftermath should not be anywhere near as punitive and burdensome.

    Although the 14 inches measured officially at Philadelphia International Airport dwarfed the 9.3 inches of snow and sleet that accumulated in last month’s storm, Zach Schwartz, 33, was among those who found the picturesque snow more palatable than the attack of ice balls and an Arctic freeze.

    “The last snowstorm was a tough time for everyone,” said Schwartz, who was at a Point Breeze playground helping a friend build an igloo for their kids, “and I think the city was kind of in shock a little bit.”

    Anthony R. Wood, Rob Tornoe


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 7:14pm

    Philly schools will be virtual on Tuesday; city offices and courts will be open

    Philadelphia schools will remain on virtual instruction for all students on Tuesday, the city announced Monday evening.

    City offices will be open for business on Tuesday and all First Judicial District courts will be open, too.

    Parking restrictions will remain in effect for posted emergency routes, the city said.

    Robert Moran


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 6:28pm

    Watch: Snowstorm turns Wissahickon into a winter wonderland


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 5:59pm

    Some city warming centers will remain open through Wednesday morning

    Philadelphia’s Office of Homeless Services said the city would maintain several 24-hour warming centers through Wednesday morning to help people stay out of the cold.

    The city is already in a Code Blue, which is declared when precipitation is falling and temperatures are 32 degrees or lower, or when temperatures feel close to or below 20 degrees due to the wind chill.

    During a Code Blue, the city sends outreach teams out 24 hours a day, looking for people without shelter and taking them inside. The designation also opens up 50 shelter beds, in addition to about 3,400 shelter beds available during the winter. Residents in emergency housing are also allowed to stay inside all day. (Some shelters require residents to leave in the morning and return at night.)

    An “enhanced Code Blue” is declared when Code Blue conditions persist for three days, and the city opens up warming centers that offer a place to sit out of the cold, usually in libraries and rec centers. Some people experiencing homelessness who are wary about entering shelters opt for less-restrictive warming centers.

    The city has not declared an enhanced Code Blue for this storm, but announced Sunday afternoon that it had planned to open warming centers at least overnight.

    On Monday afternoon, OHS’s Instagram account posted an updated list of warming centers that will stay open until 9 a.m. Wednesday. The following centers are already open unless otherwise noted:

    • Pelbano Recreation Center, 8101 Bustleton Ave. (opens at 9 p.m. Monday)
    • Hub of Hope, 15th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard (enter at the 15th Street trolley station entrance in Dilworth Park)
    • Appletree Family Center, 1430 Cherry St.
    • Prevention Point, 2913-15 Kensington Ave.
    • Kensington Wellness Support Center, 265 E. Lehigh Ave.
    • Samuel Rec Center, 3539 Gaul St.

    People who see someone on the streets in need of shelter, or who need shelter themselves, can call the city’s homeless outreach hotline at 215-232-1984.

    Aubrey Whelan


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 3:55pm

    Warmer weather is helping Philly’s cleanup, but so are lessons from the last storm

    Mother nature’s above freezing temperatures largely aided Philadelphia’s snow removal operations Monday, but the city also adjusted its response after the prior storm cleanup left many residents chockfull of complaints.

    Director of Clean and Green Initiatives Carlton Williams said the city secured three snow melters instead of just one, with two already on the road Monday, despite the much shorter notice of the storm.

    “They’re located throughout the city of Philadelphia, because quite frankly, from the last storm, we are running out of places to place snow,” said Williams in a news conference, referring to the dozens of snow drop off sites, such as the Navy Yard. “We needed to be able to put it in a location where it doesn’t have to sit in somebody’s neighborhood.”

    The city also added snow blowers to the mix of machines clearing the area around City Hall, said a city spokesperson.

    The softness of the snow, compared to the hardened sleet from the last storm, has made it easier for the smaller snow clearing equipment to double back and tackle ADA ramps and crosswalks after the last bit of snow fell, according to the mayor’s office.

    Even so, the city is slated to deploy crews of same-day-pay workers to manually shovel crosswalks, SEPTA stops, and ADA ramps that are hard to reach by machines as early as Tuesday.

    The deployment of these reinforcements comes at a much faster clip than the previous storm, where some 300 additional workers helped chip away at persistent ice by hand more than a week after the snow fell.

    Ximena Conde


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 3:00pm

    A puppy’s first snow

    Lee Paul and her puppy, Chay, check out the snow Monday near their Wayne Avenue apartment.

    Lee Paul, 36, was not ready to step out of her Wayne Avenue apartment complex in the middle of a blizzard. But her four-month-old puppy had other plans.

    “I had to take Chay to go to the bathroom,” said Paul, hands in her pockets and dreading the cold.

    She hates winter, but is happy that living in a building meant no shoveling was in her future.

    For Chay, this is all a new experience. He was thrilled to jump around in the snow, bury his paws over and over again, and catch tiny flakes with his nose for more than 10 minutes.

    Michelle Myers


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 2:54pm

    SEPTA resumes most services but Regional Rail remains suspended

    SEPTA bus stops, like this one in Germantown, sat empty most of Monday.

    SEPTA has reopened its Center City trolley tunnel, and resumed service on more than 20 of its bus routes. However, Regional Rail service remained largely suspended as of Monday afternoon, SEPTA general manager Scott Sauer said.

    “We’re hoping to have some Regional Rail service restored later this afternoon,” Sauer said Monday. “But I will caution: We will not be on a regular schedule.”

    Just before 3 p.m., the agency restored operations on its Manayunk/Norristown line, a representative said.

    The transit agency had inspectors and inspection trains working along Regional Rail lines evaluating them for any hazards, but their resumption was not immediately clear Monday afternoon. Sauer encouraged riders to follow SEPTA’s app and website for service updates as storm cleanup progresses.

    “SEPTA has nearly 300 Regional Rail and metro stations, most with a variety of platforms and infrastructure, so we are working to clear those in the best effort possible,” Sauer said.

    About 30 track inspectors were working to inspect SEPTA infrastructure, and roughly 700 in-house employees were working to clear the authority’s property of snow and other hazards, including downed trees. Sauer added that SEPTA has utilized “many, many tons” of rock salt to combat ice, and employed the use of all of its available heavy equipment to aid in cleanup.

    “We’ve made service adjustments, and now it’s back to restoration,” Sauer said. “But all while keeping an eye on safety for both our customers and our employees.”

    Nick Vadala


    // Pinned

    // Timestamp 02/23/26 1:10pm

    Light snow is possible Tuesday night. More next week?

    Snow removal vehicles plow at Swarthmore College Monday.

    It won’t be a big deal, but a round of light snow is possible late Tuesday night and/or early Wednesday as a weak “clipper” system approaches from the west.

    While temperatures on Tuesday will struggle to reach freezing and fall into the 20s at night and, thus, cold enough for snow, it shouldn’t accumulate more than an inch in the Philly region, forecasters say.

    It will warm into the 40s on Wednesday, and given the strength of the February sun it should be a decent melting day.

    More light precipitation, perhaps a mix of rain and snow, is possible Thursday, but that should be followed three consecutive dry days ,with high temperatures in the 40s to low 50s.

    Another batch of chiller air could arrive in time for a storm to produce more snow early next week, said Tom Kines, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. But, yes, it’s way, way early.

    At least by then, most of what fell Sunday and Monday should be liquefied.

    Kines warned that in the meantime temperatures the next few nights are going to fall below freezing, turning some of that daytime melt into ice.

    Anthony R. Wood


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 2:36pm

    Tens of thousands still without power in N.J.

    Snow fills a child’s basketball hoop in Haddonfield Monday.

    More than 130,000 households across the Philadelphia region lost power last night due to the snowstorm.

    Philadelphia households have mostly recovered from power outages on Monday, according to Peco, with only 213 active outages this afternoon.

    South Jersey still has around 75,000 households currently without power, according to Jersey Central Power and Light, but that number has slowly decreased since this morning.

    Outages in Atlantic City are still higher than they were this morning with 2,804 active outages, up from 1,892 around 7 a.m., according to Atlantic City Electric. Last night, more than 50,000 residents in Atlantic City lost power.

    Henry Savage


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 2:31pm

    Dozens of Philly trees downed in the storm

    Wet snow brought down trees in Rittenhouse Square Monday.

    At least 87 tress across the city were downed as a result of the storm as of Monday afternoon, and the city is working to determine which ones to prioritize clearing first, Parks and Recreation commissioner Susan Slawson said.

    “We have four certified arborists that are actively inspecting reports of fallen trees to determine priority for clearance,” Slawson said Monday. “Everything is not a priority.”

    Slawson asked for patience from city residents as the department works to clean up downed trees, and noted that some situations involving live wires require additional caution and coordination. Fallen trees blocking roadways, or those that have fallen on houses or cars, should be reported to 911, while those impacting power lines should be reported to Peco.

    While the number of downed trees may rise in the immediate aftermath of the storm, Slawson said she expects officials will continue to monitor the situation in the coming weeks and months. Longer-term implications, she cautioned, are possible.

    “This moisture, this snow, is going to continue to [have an] affect,” Slawson said. “Early on in the spring, we may continue to see trees come down, and it’s a direct result of all the storms that we’ve had.”

    Nick Vadala


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 2:14pm

    An easier time shoveling this snow in Germantown

    Ronald Barnard works to shovel outside his Coulter Street home in Germantown Monday.

    Ronald Barnard has been shoveling outside his Coulter Street home for two hours. At 69, snow clean up requires twice the effort, he said.

    “It’s just a lot,” Barnard said pointing to the surrounding unplowed sidewalks and ice covered road. “This snow is easier to push than the snow in January, but it’s more than I expected for sure.”

    He likes doing the clean up himself. But when neighbors offer to help, he takes the chance to reminiscent about a better time, when “the city used to give us salt and even plow the two way street, but times have change.”

    El Zahur shovels the sidewalk outside his Germantown property Monday.

    A block down Germantown Avenue, El Zahur, 42, is having an easier time. City plow trucks have been driving by all morning, making the street clean.

    “The administration dropped the ball last time, but she made out for it this time,” Zahur said, referring to Mayor Charelle L. Parker. “Before, the trucks were driving around with their plows up, but now they are doing a good job actually removing the snow.”

    Regardless, he is still responsible for his corner property sidewalks, which proved to be a bit of a hazard.

    “I have managed to stay out of the way from falling things,” Zahur said, as some snow rapidly fell off the roof into the sidewalk. “I don’t want nothing falling on me from three stories above.”

    Michelle Myers


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 1:56pm

    Weather Service cancels blizzard warnings for Philly and across the region

    Mike Ouellette plows his driveway with a snow blower in Wallingford Monday.

    The National Weather Service has taken down the blizzard warnings for the region.

    While strong winds and blowing snow are likely to persist, the threat of blizzard conditions has diminished, said Nick Guzzo, meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly.

    The warning had been scheduled to expire at 6 p.m., but snow has moved out of the area, and overall visibilities and conditions have improved

    Anthony R. Wood


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 1:54pm

    Philly snow emergency remains in effect, no word yet if schools will reopen Tuesday

    Snow topped cars sit in a Old City apartment parking lot Monday.

    Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said at a Monday afternoon news conference it remained too early to determine when the city’s snow emergency could be lifted, but officials hoped to have an update on the resumption of city operations later in the day.

    In the meantime, Parker added, city residents should avoid unnecessary travel until further notice to allow crews to continue to clear the more than 2,500 miles of roadways in Philadelphia. Roughly 65% of streets had been treated in some way as of Monday afternoon — plowed, salted, or lifted, or some combination of the three — director of Clean and Green Initiatives Carlton Williams said.

    “When there are fewer cars on the street, we give our crews more flexibility to do the job that we are asking them to do,” Parker said.

    At the height of the storm, the city employed more than 800 pieces of equipment and about 1,000 workers to aid in snow removal, and that number “is still continuously growing,” Williams said. Workers will assist with the clearing of curb cuts, ADA ramps, and areas around schools, among other spaces, as cleanup efforts continue, he added.

    “We will continue to focus on those areas so that all pedestrians and motorists will have safe and accessible walkways,” Williams said.

    Officials expect to release additional information about Tuesday’s city services and school operations around 6 p.m., Parker said.

    Nick Vadala


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 1:49pm

    New Jersey travel ban lifted

    David Holmes cleans the snow off of his car as neighbor Bill McKean (rear) snow-blows the driveway in Haddonfield Monday.

    The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management has announced that the mandatory travel restriction, which began at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday and was extended until noon Monday, has been lifted.

    Officials nonetheless “strongly encouraged” motorists to avoid unnecessary travel as hazardous conditions remain in parts of New Jersey, according to a release from the state police.

    “Some roadways remain snow-covered, visibility is limited in some areas, and crews continue working to clear roads and restore safe travel,” the release said.

    Amy S. Rosenberg


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 1:28pm

    Was this a blizzard?

    Nicole Swinson looks into a snowy Penns Landing Monday.

    Philadelphia hasn’t experienced a verified blizzard in 33 years, and it remains unclear whether this Sunday-Monday snow fest qualified for the honor.

    According to NOAA guidelines, a blizzard requires “frequent winds of 35 mph or higher with considerable falling and/or blowing snow that frequently reduces visibility to 1/4 of a mile or less. These conditions are expected to prevail for a minimum of 3 hours.”

    That’s a lot to ask for a snowstorm, and it is going to take considerable forensic work of poring through observations to determine whether those conditions were met in Philadelphia or elsewhere in the region, said Nick Guzzo, a meteorologist at the National Weahter Service Office in Mount Holly. (Incidentally, 20 inches of snow were measured on the office’s property.)

    The last certifiable blizzard in Philly occurred on March 13, 1993. That one closed down the Philadelphia Flower Show.

    Meteorologists were confident that the conditions were met during the record 30.7-inch snowfall of Jan. 7-8, 1996, however they weren’t officially verified in the city.

    With or without a label, this was one impressive storm.

    Anthony R. Wood


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 1:02pm

    Watch: Philly Mayor Parker offers snow updates


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 9:53am

    Accumulating snow is over in the Philly area

    A Philadelphia Fire Department ambulance drives along Ridge Avenue at Midvale on Monday.

    Light snow is lingering in the Philly region and could continue into the afternoon, but no additional accumulation is expected.

    “What’s done is pretty much almost done,” said Amanda Lee, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, where 18 inches was measured Monday morning.

    The potent coastal nor’easter that clocked South Jersey and areas along I-95 and generously layered several inches of snow throughout Philly’s neighboring counties in Pennsylvania is pulling away.

    Officially, 13.7 inches fell at Philadelphia International Airport as of 7 a.m. Here are more snowfall totals.

    Some stronger snow bands continue to pester the Shore, but for areas to the west, that should be it.

    At least until Tuesday night, when another inch is possible.

    Anthony R. Wood


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 1:00pm

    SEPTA service beginning to be restored

    Snow covered tracks at SEPTA’s East Falls Station along the Norristown Regional Rail.

    Almost all SEPTA services, besides some subway services, were temporarily suspended Monday due to the storm. But some are beginning to come back online.

    Bus service is in the process of being restored as streets are cleared, the agency said.

    The Center City Trolley Tunnel has reopened. The D and M lines are running on a modified service schedule, while Route G remains suspended.

    Regional Rail remains suspended until safety inspections are complete. If Regional Rail service returns, it will follow a Saturday schedule.

    The Broad Street Line (B), Market-Frankford Line (L), and Media-Sharon Hill Line (D) are operating as normal with some delays and cancellations.

    The Norristown High Speed Line (M) is running but only operating between the 69th Street Transit Center and Radnor Station.

    Henry Savage


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 12:48pm

    South Philadelphia is loving the winter wonderland

    Zach Schwartz builds an igloo in Wharton Square Park Monday.

    Fresh powdery snow, perfect for snowballs, blanketed Wharton Square Park in South Philadelphia after Sunday night’s snowstorm. Laughter from the playground, shovels scraping concrete, and snowmen slowly rolling into form took over the park on Monday morning.

    Two men in particular came with a mission: to build an igloo for their kids. Zach Schwartz, 33, and Josh Feist, 33, of Point Breeze shoveled a path to the playground, piling up a more than five-foot snow pile. Feist, who is a mason, helped stabilize the frame while Schwartz carved out the inside.

    “We have a really close crew of families in the neighborhood, so we’re here at the park like every day, no matter what. With the snow, we just have more fun things to do,” Schwartz said, who has lived in Philly since 2016. In recent memory, this storm had some of the most snowfall, Schwartz said, but that it doesn’t compare to the frozen snow of last month.

    “The last snowstorm was a tough time for everyone, and I think the city was kind of in shock a little bit,” Schwartz said.

    Samantha Schranck and John Gabel were out walking their dog enjoying the warmer temperatures compared to last snow storm. “I already had a day off, so I’m going to be a kid again and treat it like a snow day,” Schrank.

    While snow removal is a much easier task this time around with snow that Gabel said is less frozen and easier to pick-up, the couple is hoping city streets and trash service are up to par this week.

    “I’m very curious to see how the city clears the streets this time because it was a mess and took a long time in our neighborhood to clear snow from streets and take care of the trash build up,” Schranck said.

    Sonia Odenthal (lft) throws a snowball at her son, Finn, while her husband Eric carries a giant snowball in Wharton Square Park Monday

    On the other side of Wharton Square, Sonia Odenthal was having a snowball fight with her husband, Eric, and son, Finn. Despite trekking through the snow with a broken foot wrapped in a boot and water-proof bags, Odenthal couldn’t get enough of the snow.

    “I’m Russian so this feels like home,” she said. “Even with a broken foot, I don’t care, I’m still out here. I love the snow.”

    Philly’s snow accumulation is very reminiscent of her homeland, Sonia said, however, the temperature is much more reasonable. “A couple weeks ago when it got cold was very similar to home,” she said.

    The trio will usually come to the park on snowy days for snowball fights or rolling snow into gigantic three-foot-high balls. The only thing missing in South Philadelphia is a good sledding hill, the Odenthal’s said.

    Henry Savage


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 11:55am

    Museums across the Philly region close due to snow

    A griffin on the roof of the northern wing of the Philadelphia Art Museum.

    Several major Philadelphia arts institutions have announced closures due to emergency weather.

    Early Monday, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, and Calder Gardens announced closures on their social media accounts.

    The PMA said it’ll reopen on Tuesday.

    The Mütter Museum, Rodin Museum, the Museum of the American Revolution, Independence National Historical Park, Otherworld Philadelphia, National Liberty Museum, the Independence Seaport Museum, have also announced closures.

    Per their usual hours of operation, the National Constitution Center, Eastern State Penitentiary, Penn Museum, the Fireman’s Hall Museum and others are closed on Monday.

    Earl Hopkins


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 11:30am

    Multiple sections of the New Jersey Turnpike closed due to numerous accidents

    Multiple sections of the New Jersey Turnpike are experiencing major delays and closures after a series of accidents Monday morning amid whiteout conditions.

    Gov. Mikie Sherrill extended a travel ban through noon, citing visibility issues, though those restrictions exclude the Turnpike and essential workers.

    In an interview with Fox 5 New York early Monday, Sherrill said plowers were “down to pavement” on the Turnpike.

    Still, throughout the early morning, reports of disabled vehicles, cars spinning out of control, and crashes have lit up the state’s 511 map, which provides real-time traffic updates.

    Around 8:20 a.m. a southbound tractor trailer jack-knifed along entrance ramp interchange 8A-NJ32 in South Brunswick, leading to an all-lane blockage.

    Shortly after 9 a.m. two crashes, minutes apart, played out in inner turnpike roadways in Carteret. First a northbound vehicle crashed north of Interchange 12, leaving one of three lanes blocked. Shortly after, a southbound vehicle crashed along Interchange 12. As of 11:15 a.m., all lanes were blocked.

    At around 10 a.m. a southbound vehicle spun out south of Interchange 8A-NJ32 blocking one of three lanes.

    A statewide 35 mile per hour speed limit remains in effect.

    Ximena Conde


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 11:17am

    Cape May mayor: ‘It’s like a snow globe’

    The Abbey on Gurney Street in Cape May, N.J.

    Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock said his coastal city of Victorian homes “looks beautiful” covered in the foot of snow that had fallen by Monday morning.

    “It looks like a snow globe,” he said.

    “We had a good amount,” Mullock said, speaking by phone, from atop a tractor, which he said he was using to help plow out some neighbors. “There’s a few individual homes where a tree took a power line. The tides were ok. We were a little nervous about that. Overall, I would say things are pretty good.”

    He cautioned his residents about shoveling themselves. “We have a lot of elderly in Cape May who shouldn’t be shoveling.”

    Amy S. Rosenberg


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 10:36am

    Updated snowfall totals from across the Philadelphia region

    Residents of W. Stanton, Philadelphia clearing snow from cars and sidewalks Monday.

    More than a foot of snow fell overnight across the Philadelphia region, though the Jersey Shore was hit hardest by a powerful winter storm that was still dropping heavy snow Monday morning.

    Due to heavy snow bands, the totals varied widely. Ten inches of snow were recorded in Boothwyn Monday morning, while 15 inches dropped overnight in Mount Ephraim, Camden County.

    Officially, 13.7 inches fell at Philadelphia International Airport as of 7 a.m.

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    Here are the latest snowfall totals from the National Weather Service, measured by trained spotters or observed by the service itself:

    Philadelphia

    • Philadelphia International Airport: 13.7 in (7 a.m.)
    • Fox Chase: 13.8 in (7 a.m.)    
    • Rockledge: 13.8 (7 a.m.)

    Delaware County

    • Boothwyn: 10.0 in (5:15 a.m.)
    • Chadds Ford Twp: 9.8 in (2 a.m.)
    • Lima: 8.8 in (5:35 a.m.)
    • Clifton Heights: 8.5 in (2:15 a.m.)
    • Garnet Valley: 6.0 in (10:07 p.m. Sunday)
    • Middletown Twp.: 5.2 in (9:38 p.m. Sunday)        
    • Media: 5.0 in (10:15 p.m. Sunday)

    Chester County

    • East Nantmeal Twp: 9.0 in (5 a.m.)              
    • SE Exton: 7.0 in (12:39 a.m.)   
    • West Chester: 6.2 in (12:11 a.m.) 
    • Oxford: 5.5 in (9:30 p.m. Sunday)     
    • East Coventry Twp: 4.0 in (9:36 p.m. Sunday)

    Bucks County

    • Morrisville: 21 in (8 a.m.)     
    • Langhorne: 20.5 in (6:30 a.m.)                            
    • Levittown: 15.0 in (3:53 a.m.)  
    • Warminster: 13.5 in (5:40 a.m.)       
    • Fricks: 10.3 in (6:58 a.m.)      
    • Souderton:  9.2 in (7 a.m.)        
    • East Rockhill Twp: 8.5 in (6:30 a.m.)   
    • Northampton Twp: 7.8 in (12:04 a.m.)   
    • Chalfont: 7.3 in (6:50 a.m.) 

    Rob Tornoe


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 10:24am

    Cape May County hospital lost power briefly overnight

    Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional in Cape May Court House lost power overnight in the storm “for a very short period of time” and reverted to its back up generators, said Cooper Health spokesperson Nancy Marano.

    “It was fully on back-up emergency power so no services were lost,” she said.

    Amy S. Rosenberg


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 10:11am

    Some Camden residents must boil water due to water main break

    A water main break may pose a threat to the water quality in Camden Monday morning, American Water Contract Services said. As a precaution, some areas of Camden are under a “boil water” advisory while crews assess the water supply.

    The water main break occurred at Ninth and Jefferson Streets on Sunday night. In response, American Water was advising all residents living between Ferry Avenue and Collings Road in Camden, which includes the Fairview, Morgan-Village, and Centerville neighborhoods, to not drink or use tap water until further notice.

    The advisory will remain in effect until repairs are complete and water quality is tested to be safe.

    Instead, residents should use bottled water or bring tap water to a rolling boil for at least one minute and let it cool before using, according to American Water. Boiling water kills bacteria that could be found in the water.

    Boiled or bottled water should be used for:

    • Drinking
    • Preparing Foods/Cooking
    • Mixing baby formula
    • Washing vegetables/fruits
    • Making Ice
    • Brushing teeth
    • Washing dishes

    Affected residents should throw away uncooked food, beverages, or ice cubes made with tap water on Sunday night or today. American Water also cautioned residents to not swallow water when showering or bathing.

    The following measures are also recommended:

    • Rinse hand-washed dishes with a diluted bleach solution (one tablespoon of household bleach per gallon of tap water) or clean your dishes in a dishwasher using the hot wash cycle and dry cycle.
    • Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling or using bottled water; most home water filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms.
    • Use only boiled water to treat minor injuries.
    • Provide pets with drinking water that has been boiled (and cooled).

    Henry Savage


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 9:28am

    Photos: Snow falls across the Philadelphia region


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 9:18am

    Winter now ranks among the snowier ones in Philly

    Snow-covered Kelly Drive in Philadelphia Monday.

    With an official snowfall of 13.7 inches measured at Philadelphia International Airport, the city’s seasonal total bumped to 29.8 inches.

    Among the 142 winters in the period of record, this one now is tied for 27th place, and also is the snowiest since 2018.

    You may have noticed snow has been scarce in recent winters, and this also will be the first one since 2021 with snowfall above the normal, which is 23.1 inches.

    Historically, totals have ranged radically from 78.7 inches in the historic winter of 2009-10 to nothing in the winter of 1972-73.

    Anthony R. Wood


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 9:12am

    Photos: Heavy snow and wind bring down trees in Rittenhouse Square

    Wet snow brought down trees in Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia Monday.
    Several trees around Rittenhouse Square were taken down by the storm.

    // Timestamp 02/23/26 9:08am

    Amtrak cancels more than 30 trains, Keystone Service to resume at noon

    Amtrak canceled more than 30 trains on its Northeast Regional and Acela train lines on Monday morning due to the snowstorm. Keystone Service has been suspended until at least noon.

    Alerts went out at 4 a.m. announcing a slew of cancellations and advising riders to book the next available train. Amtrak will notify impacted customers directly. Customers whose trains are cancelled can rebook or request refunds, without penalties, on Amtrak.com, through the Amtrak mobile app, or by calling the Amtrak Care Center at 1-800-USA-RAIL.

    Amtrak will operate 55% of planned service Monday on the Northeast Regional rail service, 33% of planned Acela trains, and half of the planned trains on the Keystone Service trains, when it returns at noon.

    Northeast Regional carries thousands of passengers every day with Philadelphia and New York among some of the leading destinations, and the William H. Gray III 30th Street station among Amtrak’s busiest in the country.

    Henry Savage


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 8:57am

    ‘Storm of a generation’: N.J. travel ban continues until noon, tree cutters ‘out in force’

    A car stuck in the plowed snow on Pacific Avenue near Ohio Avenue in Atlantic City Monday.

    Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Monday morning that New Jersey’s travel ban would continue until noon as white out conditions were making it difficult to see, especially on major roads like the Garden State Parkway.

    “It was an early morning call,” she said, in an online interview with South Jersey weather forecaster Nick “NorEaster Nick” Pittman. “It was difficult to see the edge of the road where the guardrails were. We still have snow falling in a lot of parts of our state.”

    She said more than 200,000 people had lost power across New Jersey, but that more than half of them had already had power restored. “which is pretty shocking given how horrible the conditions are.”

    “They’re hiking in to some pretty clobbered areas of the state,” she said of the utility workers, 5,000 of whom had been “predeployed,” she said.

    With heavy snow bringing down tbranches and trees, she said, “We have the tree cutters out in force.”

    She said the magnitude and reach of the storm across New Jersey, with overnight blizzard conditions and the dumping of a foot or more of snow, was “generational.”

    “I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this since 1996,” she said.

    Amy S. Rosenberg


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 8:16am

    Coastal flooding in Atlantic City ‘underperformed in a good way’

    Ice floods onto the street along Massachusetts Avenue in Atlantic City overnight Monday, Feb. 23, 2026.

    Scott Evans, Atlantic City’s Fire Chief and head of Emergency Management, said flooding in the coastal city was not as bad as feared. “The flooding definitely underperformed in a good way,” he said. “We’ll take it any day.”

    He described it as “the low end of moderate” level of flooding, something Atlantic City is used to dealing with. The city had about a foot of snow by daylight, he said, with persistent high winds over night prompting numerous calls for “arcing wires.”

    At the 11 p.m. Sunday high tide through around 2:30 a.m., there was about 8 to 10 inches of water in “some of our lowest lying areas,” he said, including Massachusetts Avenue, Bungalow Park and Lower Chelsea.

    “We were expecting to get more,” he said in a phone interview Monday morning. “No significant problems.”

    The city was still seeing the “residual ice” in the streets from the flooding, he said. Crews were out plowing streets, he said, and had mostly tamed the city’s famous Boardwalk. “They always have a team assigned to the Boardwalk,” he said.

    He said he was not expecting any issues from the next high tide around 12:15 p.m. in the back bays.

    Amy S. Rosenberg


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 8:10am

    Hundreds of flights canceled at Philadelphia International Airport

    Airport crew plow snow during a winter storm in Philadelphia last month.

    At Philadelphia International Airport, 604 flights had been canceled as of Monday morning, as snow blanketed the city. Another 42 flights were canceled for Tuesday, according to FlightAware, which tracks flights.

    “Passengers should check on the status of their flights with their airlines—the airlines will also provide guidance on what passengers should do in the event their flights are cancelled,” said airport spokesperson Heather Redfern.

    The airport also announced ticketing at Terminal A-West, B, and C and TSA checkpoints would be closed Monday.

    Some 40 million square feet need to be cleared at the airport when snow falls, including on airplane runways and taxiways. The airport also has an additional 11.9 million square feet of space on roadways, ramps and parking lots.

    While airplanes are deiced by the airlines, the department of aviation is required to ensure runways and taxiways are clear.

    More than two inches of dry snow or half an inch or wet snow trigger closing a runway, according to regulations by the Federal Aviation Administration, noted Redfern. Even if flights are canceled by airlines or in the event that the FAA issues a ground stop, the airport does not close, Redfern noted in January ahead of another snowfall.

    Ariana Perez-Castells, Rob Tornoe


    // Timestamp 02/23/26 7:20am

    Snow will continue across the Philly area through the morning

    A Sanitation Department dump truck clears snow on Midvale Avenue in the East Falls section of Philadelphia Monday.

    As much as a foot of snow fell overnight across the Philadelphia region as heavy snowfall from a massive winter storm continues across the Delaware Valley.

    Due to heavy snow bands, the totals varied widely. Ten inches of snow were recorded in Boothwyn Monday morning, while 11 inches dropped overnight in Mount Ephraim, Camden County.

    Officially, 13.7 inches fell at Philadelphia International Airport as of 7 a.m. Here are more snowfall totals.

    Latest timing

    Snow will continue throughout the morning, with another 3 to 5 inches expected to fall in Philadelphia, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah Johnson.

    The highest totals are expected along the northern and central Jersey Shore, with the heaviest bands dropping as much as 2 inches of snow per hour or greater. Another 4 to 6 inches of snow is possible for Southern New Jersey and parts of Central and Southern Delaware.

    At the National Weather Service’s Mt. Holly observatory, 18.5 inches of snow had fallen as of 5:15 a.m. Monday morning.

    Snow is expected to taper off by noon, forecasters said, but strong winds and blowing snow will continue through at least 5 p.m., creating dangerous driving conditions. Wind gusts in Philadelphia could reach upwards of 40 miles per hour during the day.

    One bit of good news: Tidal flooding isn’t expected along the Delaware River due to the direction of the wind, so it won’t be a concern for Philly or the immediate area.

    Rob Tornoe


    // Timestamp 02/22/26 7:10am

    Why have these storms been happening on the weekend?

    A pedestrian walks across Race Street in Chinatown Sunday.

    If you perceive the atmosphere for whatever reason has a grudge against weekends, that’s understandable.

    Precipitation has fallen on six of the last seven weekends, with snowflakes making appearances in all of them, most emphatically on Jan. 25, when 9.3 inches of snow and sleet balls accumulated, and then refused to leave.

    The storm rhythm actually is a quite common one, meteorologists say.

    It has to do with the spacing between weather systems. Sometimes they show up in roughly 3½-day cycles, taking that long to traverse the country, and often it’s the second one in the cycle that is the stronger storm.

    Like so many things in the atmosphere — droughts, wet periods — they keep happening, until they don’t.

    We’re probably about due for a don’t, but not this weekend.

    Anthony R. Wood


    // LiveBlog Name: Snow resources

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  • Chesco towns are among the Philly area’s wealthiest, but big Bucks County is making gains

    Chesco towns are among the Philly area’s wealthiest, but big Bucks County is making gains

    It abuts an internationally famous garden. It may well be the most affluent community in the nation that hosts a prison, a source of some unwanted attention a few years back.

    And, according to recently released U.S. Census data, picturesque Pocopson Township is in a rarified zone for wealth in the eight-county Philadelphia region, with an annual median household income of $230,000.

    Chester County towns dominated the top 50 list in an analysis of incomes in the region’s municipalities — compiled from self-reported American Community Survey data — calculated for the five-year period that ended in 2024.

    But the analysis also showed that not only has Bucks County been gaining star power, some of its towns may merit the label “Big Bucks County.”

    Legendary locale New Hope and neighboring Solebury — places associated with Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alumna Yolanda Hadid and actor Bradley Cooper — are among the towns that have made significant moves up the income chart, compared with the five-year period that ended in 2014.

    Inflation-adjusted median annual incomes jumped 58% in New Hope, to $175,000. Incomes were up nearly 30% in Solebury, to $196,000, among the highest in the region.

    The national median income was around $80,000, according to census figures.

    Income figures are estimates, rounded to the nearest hundred, and are subject to margins of error. A total of 286 municipalities were included in the analysis; those with fewer than 2,500 residents were excluded. Here are some key findings.

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    Chester County still has the wealthiest towns

    Chester County towns held six of the top 10 spots, including Birmingham, adjacent to Pocopson.

    The county evidently is rich in an amenity attractive to the wealthy — and to others.

    “Chester County has been a leader in terms of the amount of land preserved,” said Andrew Svekla, Office of Smart Growth manager with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. “The availability of open space is an amenity that everyone is looking for.”

    While the natural environment is an understandable attraction, not everyone who spends time in Pocopson comes for the green space: The Chester County Prison has been a mainstay in the township since 1959.

    In August 2023, Pocopson and Longwood Gardens became international news when inmate Danilo Cavalcante escaped and set off a two-week investigative frenzy that mutated into a massive exercise of Where’s Danilo? He spent time hiding in Longwood and was eventually captured in South Coventry Township, about 20 miles away.

    Otherwise, the likes of Pocopson and Birmingham have not exactly been centers of media attention, and the towns even have avoided the development-vs.-open-space conflicts that have erupted elsewhere, said Matthew J. Edmond, executive director of the Chester County Planning Commission.

    “They aren’t in the path of growth,” he said. “These areas are off the beaten path.” The residents represent a mix of old and new money, he said.

    He likened Chester County to a macro-version of Lower Merion Township, where neighborhoods vary from ultra-wealthy Gladwyne to the middle-class sections of Ardmore.

    While overall the county has the highest median income in the state, “when you get down to the granular level, it’s a very diverse county,” he said.

    Incomes in other counties in the region have grown

    The overall picture of wealth in the eight-county region was quite a diverse one in the census survey, ranging from Pocopson’s median income to the $40,000 levels of Camden, the City of Chester, and Darby Borough.

    But the preponderance of the higher incomes clearly were west of the Delaware River.

    Jersey’s wealthier municipalities tend to be clustered in the New York metro area, Svekla said, and only six were on the top 50 list in the Philly region. They included Camden County’s Haddonfield, with a median income of $200,500, and Moorestown, at $160,000 and a favorite of professional athletes. They include ex-Phillie Nick Castellanos, onetime 76er Ben Simmons, Flyers legend Bobby Clarke, and former Eagle Terrell Owens, who famously drew media attention by doing push-ups on his driveway.

    It also is the home of Kevin Patullo, the Eagles’ former offensive coordinator whose house was pelted with eggs in October after one of the team’s lackluster performances.

    Haddon Heights and Haddon Township did not join Haddonfield in the top 50 but were high on the list of towns where incomes had grown substantially in the last 10 years.

    Other places that experienced substantial paycheck bumps in the last 10 years included the Blue Route towns of Conshohocken and West Conshohocken. Both are close to I-476 interchanges and have experienced growth spurts in population and wealth since the highway connecting the Pennsylvania Turnpike to I-95 opened in the 1990s.

    Bucks lags in population growth, but not wealth

    Led by Chester County, population increased in all eight counties between the 2010 and 2020 census counts. “We’re growing mainly due to international immigration,“ said Greg Diebold, the Delaware Valley planning commission’s senior data analyst.

    “Bucks has been one of the slower-growing counties,” he said, having added only about 4% to its population between 2010 and 2020.

    In terms of median-income growth over the last 10 years, however, it had seven municipalities in the top 20, more than any other county.

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    Not all the gainers were wealthy towns

    One Delaware County town, Upland Borough, adjacent to the City of Chester and the location of part of the closed Crozer-Chester Medical Center, made the biggest-growth list with incomes up more than 40% to $61,000.

    Bankrupt Chester itself, with one of Pennsylvania’s highest poverty rates, reported a 10% gain, to $41,000.

    However, half of the 10 towns where incomes decreased the most were in Delaware County.

    Speaking to the region’s overall prosperity, fewer than 25% of the 286 towns showed drops in income in the period that ended in 2024, compared with the five-year period that ended in 2014.

    And only 20% this time around reported incomes below the national median.

  • Winter storm warning for Philly; blizzard conditions expected at the Shore

    Winter storm warning for Philly; blizzard conditions expected at the Shore

    A winter storm warning is in effect for Sunday — a blizzard warning for the Jersey Shore — and Sunday into Monday Philly’s snow has a shot at doubling the amount that fell on Jan. 25, the National Weather Service says.

    “At this point, that’s certainly possible,” Zachary Cooper, meteorologist with the National Weather Service said Saturday. The official forecast is calling for just over a foot in the city, with the potential for the total reaching 18 inches.

    Blizzard warnings up for the Shore, where onshore winds are forecast to howl past 35 mph, with moderate to major flooding possible.

    While it wasn’t in the official language, the weather service on a Saturday morning might well have included a supermarket stampede warning.

    The actual winter storm warning is in effect from 7 a.m. Sunday until 6 p.m. Monday.

    With a surprising level of agreement computer models and their interpreters Saturday were seeing the storm as being inevitable. It was forecast to affect the I-95 corridor from Washington to Boston — a rarity in recent winters.

    The weather service listed a 25% chance that totals could approach two feet in the city.

    “It’s going to be a long-duration event,” said Cody Snell, meteorologist with NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md.

    On the plus side, this will not have the staying power of the 9.3 punitive inches that accumulated on Jan. 25 and spent a three-week vacation in the region. No ice is in the forecast, and daytime temperatures above freezing and the February sun likely will erase most it by the end of the workweek.

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    What time would the snow begin in Philly?

    Precipitation is expected to begin Sunday morning, said Snell, possibly as a mix of snow and rain that becomes all snow.

    Snow may have a hard time sticking during the day, said Tom Kines, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc., since temperatures will be near or slightly above freezing and the late-winter sun will be a factor, even it’s just a rumor in the sky.

    Plus the ground won’t be especially cold after a Saturday in which the temperature may approach 50 degrees.

    However, the upper air is going to be quite cold, Snell said, and when the snow is falling heavily, as it is expected to do Sunday night, “it will cool the column.”

    He said areas that get caught in heavy snow “bands” would see the highest amounts.

    What would be so different about this storm?

    The storm is forecast to mature into a classic nor’easter, so named for the strong winds generated from the Northeast.

    Nor’easters are the primary source of heavy snows along I-95, but the ones that produce heavy snow from Washington to Boston have been scarce lately.

    “Over the past several years, they’ve been few and far between,” Kines.

    The Jan. 25 storm was not a nor’easter per se, said Snell, but more of a case of the “overrunning” of warm air over cold air producing the snow and sleet.

    John Gyakum, an atmospheric scientist at McGill University in Montreal and a winter storm specialist, said he anecdotally has seen a trend of coastal storms intensifying too far north to have much of an impact on the Philly region.

    If that were the case, it could be a symptom of global warming, said Steve Decker, meteorology professor at Rutgers University. Storms form where cold and warm meet, and that may have been happening farther north lately.

    In any event that evidently won’t be the case Sunday.

    What could go wrong with the forecasts?

    Are you new around here?

    The storm consists of multiple moving parts, and as it bounds off the Southeast coast, it is due to intensify rapidly over the warm Atlantic waters.

    Meteorologists advised it was still unclear precisely how intense it would become and what path it would take.

    Forecast busts have been known to happen, including a famous one 25 years ago. On a Friday, the weather service warned of a storm of “historic” proportions to begin that Sunday.

    What Philly got was about an inch of snow that fell over three uneventful hours.

    In 2015, the head of the Mount Holly weather service office publicly apologized for a busted forecast.

    However, in recent years, the region hasn’t had all that many serious snow scares.

    In this case, expect details to jump around even as the precipitation is falling, but Snell said “confidence is growing” that substantial snow is going to happen.

    Inquirer staff writer Stephen Stirling contributed to this article.

  • Documenting the President’s House saga

    Documenting the President’s House saga

    The brief confrontation came this week in front of the empty frames where visitors had been taping informal signs to fill the void where the original panels hung at the President’s House, after President Donald Trump’s administration removed the slavery exhibits last month.

    Signs and notes placed by visitors at the President’s House in Independence National Historical Park.

    Glenn Bergman and his wife Dianne Manning were just arriving at the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition’s annual Presidents’ Day observance. They had earlier attended the weekly ICE vigil a few blocks away. Bystanders yelled at the woman to stop as she declared it was her “First Amendment right” while tearing off the notes.

    Bergman stepped in to block her, saying later, he “had to do something.” After a few seconds everyone stepped away, accusing her of “littering.”

    She grabbed the papers off the ground and left abruptly, shouting “George Washington made this country great… for white people.”

    The entire interaction lasted less than three minutes — and unfolded right on the other side of the wall from where the main advocacy organization leading the fight to protect the President’s House was gathered.

    The Avenging the Ancestors Coalition holds their annual Presidents’ Day observance at the President’s House Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. The empty frame in the foreground held a panel about slavery that was removed.

    As the week of Presidents’ Day ends, I’m moving that presidential apostrophe back a letter and remembering my time photographing at the President’s House.

    It is almost a year since our current President signed Executive Order #14253, titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” on Mar. 27, 2025.

    In addition to requiring the Secretary of the Interior to develop a plan to improve Independence National Historical Park in preparation for our 250th birthday, he directed National Park Service staff to identify language and historical depictions that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”

    Flowering trees by Independence Hall in spring, 2025.

    In May, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order that signs be posted in all National Park asking employees and visitors to report any negative information.

    A sign and QR code located in Independence National Historical Park inviting the public to submit feedback on repairs, improvements, and content that is “negative about either past or living Americans.”

    In July, President Donald Trump’s administration started taking steps to review or remove materials key to understanding the history of race in America.

    But it didn’t happen until last month.

    I was on another assignment nearby when the newspaper received a tip workers were on the site “with tape measures.”

    They weren’t talking to our reporter, already on the site, when I arrived to find park service workers indeed examining the panels. So I just assumed if they would be dismantling the exhibits it would happen in the middle of the night — like when the statue of former Mayor Frank Rizzo was “disappeared” and his Italian Market mural was erased under cover of darkness in 2020.

    I made a few photos then left to edit and upload, only to get a text, “it’s happening now.”

    It was awkward as the workers asked me to “give us a break,” while I hovered around — not right on top of them — watching every move. I replied we were both doing our jobs.

    Bolts are removed from Interpretive panels as the exhibits are taken off the walls in Independence National Historical Park Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026.

    It wasn’t long before other news media arrived, and I continued to document the entire removal. I was joined by photographer Elizabeth Robertson who made a photo from our newsroom overlooking the site. Later that evening, I returned to a much quieter scene.

    The President’s House Historical Park Jan. 22, 2026, after all historical exhibits were removed. The site, a reconstructed “ghost” structure titled “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation” (2010), serves as a memorial to the nine people George Washington enslaved there during the founding of America.

    That wasn’t the end of it. Protests continued…

    Historical interpreter Michael Carver talks with visitors while he and other members of the Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides host “History Matters” offering “Free Talks with Tour Guides” Jan. 24, 2026 at the President’s House site two days after more than a dozen educational displays about slavery were removed from the site.

    … and the City of Philadelphia sued the National Park Service and Department of Interior. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe inspected the removed panels in storage for herself, visited the President’s House site, then ordered the federal government “restore the President’s House Site to its physical status as of January 21, 2026,” which is the day before the exhibits were removed.

    Trump administration officials appealed her ruling calling it “unnecessary judicial intervention” and on Presidents’ Day, when Glenn Bergman and Dianne Manning of Mt. Airy were attending the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition rally, Judge Rufe issued an injunction that required the federal agencies to restore the interpretive panels.

    So we all waited to see what happened next. The “what’s next?” was two days later the federal judge, citing the agencies’ “failure to comply” set a deadline of 5 p.m. Friday.

    A spokesperson for the White House defended their inaction saying removal of the exhibits is not final because the Department of the Interior is “engaged in an ongoing review of our nation’s American history exhibits in accordance with the President’s executive order to eliminate corrosive ideology, restore sanity, and reinstate the truth.”

    A cleaded up and power-washed President’s House site the day after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore the slavery exhibits that the National Park Service removed from the President’s House in January.

    Upon hearing the news I thought, “Friday is my day off. I will just have to read what my excellent reporting colleagues Fallon Roth, Maggie Prosser, and Abraham Gutman write about it. And live vicariously through the photos by whichever of my photo co-workers gets the assignment.“

    I just couldn’t stay away, so I returned to the site early Thursday morning, just to “babysit.”

    After about 30 minutes and only seeing two visitors, a park service worker arrived with a 5-gallon Lowe’s plastic blue bucket ($4.95, lid sold separately) and another, plain white plastic pail full of rags. More prep work for Friday, my day off, I figured.

    When he returned with a six-foot Little Giant ladder ($255.99, King Kombo), I asked “so you’re not just doing more cleaning, right?”

    I alerted my newsdesk, and spent the next six hours there.

    Philadelphia Inquirer staff photographer Tom Gralish edits his news photos at the President’s House site in Independence National Historical Park Thursday, Feb, 19, 2026 as park service workers restore the slavery exhibits that were removed in January. Gralish had met and talked with the NPS employee earlier in the morning before other news media arrived at the site, and hadn’t noticed a panel would be going back up later where he was sitting. “You’re okay,” the worker said, “you were here first.”

    Since 1998 a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in the print editions of The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color:

    February 16, 2026: What came first? The dirty snowpacked berm of frozen slush or the graffiti?
    February 9, 2026: Walking through a corrugated metal culvert called the “Duck Tunnel,” a pedestrian navigates the passageway under the SEPTA tracks on the Swarthmore College campus.
    February 2, 2026: A light-as-air Elmo balloon rolls along a sidewalk in Haddonfield, propelled by the wind as Sunday’s heavy snow starts to turn to ice and sleet.
    January 26, 2026: The President’s House in Independence National Historical Park hours Jan, 22, after all historical exhibits were removed following President Trump’s Executive Order last March that the content at national parks that “inappropriately disparage” the U.S. be reviewed. The site, a reconstructed “ghost” structure titled “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation” (2010), serves as a memorial to the nine people George Washington enslaved there during the founding of America.
    January 19, 2026: A low-in-the-sky winter sun is behind the triangular pediment of the “front door” of the open-air President’s House installation in Independence National Historical Park. The reconstructed “ghost” structure with partial walls and windows of the Georgian home known in the 18th century as 190 High St. is officially titled, “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation” (2010). It is designed to give visitors a sense of the house where the first two presidents of the United States, George Washington and John Adams, served their terms of office. The commemorative site designed by Emanuel Kelly, with Kelly/Maiello Architects, pays homage to nine enslaved people of African descent who were part of the Washington household with videos scripted by Lorene Cary and directed by Louis Massiah.
    Deepika Iyer holds her niece Ira Samudra aloft in a Rockyesque pose, while her parents photograph their 8 month-old daughter, in front of the famous movie prop at the top of the steps at the Philadelphia Art Museum. Iyer lives in Philadelphia and is hosting a visit by her mother Vijayalakshmi Ramachandran (partially hidden); brother Gautham Ramachandran; and her sister-in-law Janani Gautham who all live in Bangalore, India.
    January 5, 2026: Parade marshals trail behind the musicians of the Greater Kensington String Band heading to their #9 position start in the Mummers Parade. Spray paint by comic wenches earlier in the day left “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers” shadows on the pavement of Market Street. This year marked the 125th anniversary of Philly’s iconic New Year’s Day celebration.
    Dec. 29, 2025: Canada geese at sunrise in Evans Pond in Haddonfield, during the week of the Winter Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere.
    December 22, 2025: SEPTA trolley operator Victoria Daniels approaches the end of the Center City Tunnel, heading toward the 40th Street trolley portal after a tour to update the news media on overhead wire repairs in the closed tunnel due to unexpected issues from new slider parts.
    December 15, 2025: A historical interpreter waits at the parking garage elevators headed not to a December crossing of the Delaware River, but an event at the National Constitution Center. General George Washington was on his way to an unveiling of the U.S. Mint’s new 2026 coins for the Semiquincentennial,
    December 8, 2025: The Benjamin Franklin Bridge and pedestrians on the Delaware River Trail are reflected in mirrored spheres of the “Weaver’s Knot: Sheet Bend” public artwork on Columbus Boulevard. The site-specific stainless steel piece located between the Cherry Street and Race Street Piers was commissioned by the City’s Public Art Office and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and created and installed in 2022 by the design and fabrication group Ball-Nogues Studio. The name recalls a history that dominated the region for hundreds of years. “Weaver’s knot” derives from use in textile mills and the “Sheet bend” or “sheet knot” was used on sailing vessels for bending ropes to sails.
    November 29, 2025: t’s ginkgo time in our region again when the distinctive fan-shaped leaves turn yellow and then, on one day, lose all their leaves at the same time laying a carpet on city streets and sidewalks. A squirrel leaps over leaves in the 18th Century Garden in Independence National Historical Park Nov. 25, 2025. The ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) is considered a living fossil as it’s the only surviving species of a group of trees that existed before dinosaurs. Genetically, it has remained unchanged over the past 200 million years. William Hamilton, owner the Woodlands in SW Phila (no relation to Alexander Hamilton) brought the first ginkgo trees to North America in 1785.
    November 24, 2025: The old waiting room at 30th Street Station that most people only pass through on their way to the restrooms has been spiffed up with benches – and a Christmas tree. It was placed there this year in front of the 30-foot frieze, “The Spirit of Transportation” while the lobby of Amtrak’s $550 million station restoration is underway. The 1895 relief sculpture by Karl Bitter was originally hung in the Broad Street Station by City Hall, but was moved in 1933. It depicts travel from ancient to modern and even futuristic times.
    November 17, 2025: Students on a field trip from the Christian Academy in Brookhaven, Delaware County, pose for a group photo in front of the Liberty Bell in Independence National Historical Park on Thursday. The trip was planned weeks earlier, before they knew it would be on the day park buildings were reopening after the government shutdown ended. “We got so lucky,” a teacher said. Then corrected herself. “It’s because we prayed for it.”

    » SEE MORE: Archived columns and Twenty years of a photo column.

  • Josh Shapiro visits the White House as Mikie Sherrill skips governors meeting after clash with Donald Trump over Democrats’ attendance

    Josh Shapiro visits the White House as Mikie Sherrill skips governors meeting after clash with Donald Trump over Democrats’ attendance

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined President Donald Trump at the White House for a breakfast on Friday, following weeks of uncertainty and strife over whether any Democrats would attend the traditionally bipartisan annual event after Trump reversed course on a decision to disinvite two other blue-state governors from the meeting.

    A spokesperson for Shapiro said he decided to attend the meeting at the White House once Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis were invited, despite Trump previously declaring the pair of Democratic leaders were not welcome.

    “Gov. Shapiro chose to join his colleagues and go to the White House to raise real issues and harm the Trump administration is doing to Pennsylvania,” Rosie Lapowsky, Shapiro’s press secretary, said in a statement.

    Trump initially planned to invite only Republican governors to the annual event that coincides with the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington, D.C., but faced pushback by the group’s GOP chair. Trump then invited Democrats, as well, but rescinded the invitations for Moore and Polis. In a post on his Truth Social platform earlier this month, Trump wrote that the two Democratic governors were “not worthy of being there.”

    The weekslong back-and-forth threatened the nonpartisan nature of the National Governors Association that represents 55 governors, including those from all 50 states and five U.S. territories. Ultimately, the NGA declined to facilitate the annual breakfast event, and Trump later re-invited Polis and Moore.

    President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a breakfast with the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

    Moore, Polis, and Shapiro were among the more than two dozen governors who attended the White House breakfast Friday, where Trump delivered brief remarks. Other Democrats, including New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherill, decided against going.

    Sherrill, a former member of Congress who just began her term last month, said in a statement that she opted to skip the White House breakfast to “focus on other NGA meetings.”

    “The president’s chaotic back-and-forth about the NGA was counterproductive and Gov. Sherrill decided not to attend,” said Sean Higgins, a spokesperson for Sherrill.

    What Shapiro talked about

    Shapiro described the closed-door meeting between Trump, the governors, and all of Trump’s cabinet as productive for him to advocate for specific issues directly with federal leaders.

    “Folks were respectful to me,” Shapiro told reporters following the meeting. “I went there with a mission to talk about things that were important to Pennsylvania.”

    Shapiro, who is currently running for reelection and touts his ability to work across partisan lines, has expressed an openness to working with Trump on issues specific to Pennsylvania, though he has challenged the president more than a dozen times in court since Trump took office last year.

    Shapiro said he was able to discuss his top issues directly with federal officials. He said he spoke with U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins about the reemergence of the avian flu in Pennsylvania; discussed releasing withheld broadband funding with Treasury Secretary Howard Lutnick about releasing withheld broadband funding; and talked with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought about the ways “their policies are hurting rural Pennsylvanians.”

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, another Democrat who attended the meeting, said afterward in a news conference that she was glad to hear what lessons Trump said he learned from his administration’s immigration enforcement mission in Minneapolis that led to mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents.

    Hochul said Trump told the group that “we’ll only go where we’re wanted,” alleviating concerns among some Democratic governors that their states may be the next to see a full-scale federal presence upending daily life.

    Weeks of back-and-forth ahead of the White House breakfast

    Sherrill and Shapiro were among the 18 Democratic governors who earlier said they would not attend the event if their colleagues were excluded.

    “Democratic governors have a long record of working across the aisle to deliver results and we remain committed to this effort,” they said in a joint statement on Feb. 10 through the Democratic Governors Association. “But it’s disappointing this administration doesn’t seem to share the same goal. At every turn, President Trump is creating chaos and division, and it is the American people who are hurting as a result.”

    They added: “Democratic governors remain united and will never stop fighting to protect and make life better for people in our states.”

    In comments to CNN last week, Sherrill said that “worse decisions” would be made without all the governors there.

    “For the president to pick and choose who he is going to have to sort of undermine the very focus of this, of coming together to get stuff done for the country just seeds more … chaos,” the New Jersey Democrat said.

    Gov. Mikie Sherrill, shown here at a news conference as volunteers gather prior to shoveling snow at Fairview Village on Martin Luther King Day during a day of service, in Camden, New Jersey, January 19, 2026.

    Moore, the nation’s only Black governor, and Polis, the first openly gay man elected to U.S. governor, were the only two leaders Trump singled out, raising concerns by civil rights groups.

    Trump, however, cited different reasons for his objections to Moore and Polis’ attendance. He said he wanted to exclude Polis because his state continues to incarcerate a former county clerk over her conviction related to allowing election-denier activists access to election data following the 2020 election. Trump also expressed a number of grievances toward Moore, including his handling of the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and Baltimore’s crime rates.

    Following the meeting Friday, governors from both parties reaffirmed that they were still committed to working with Trump despite the turmoil.

    “It’s really important imagery that we stand together as governors of our states and represent all of America, and just remind people that there’s really more that brings us together and unites us than divides us,” said Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who chairs the NGA.

    Shapiro separately told reporters that he has worked with directly Trump to “save steelworker jobs” but remains ready to challenge them in court if they threaten Pennsylvanians’ rights.

    Asked whether he has a good relationship with Trump, Shapiro said: “We have a relationship where we can work for the people of Pennsylvania, that’s my job.”

  • Man accused of hiding cameras in restrooms at a barbershop in South Jersey

    Man accused of hiding cameras in restrooms at a barbershop in South Jersey

    A 56-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly placed hidden cameras inside restrooms at a barbershop where he worked in Gloucester County, police said Thursday.

    Richard Doerrmann, of Mickleton, N.J., was charged with one count of third-degree invasion of privacy to record intimate body parts without consent, and two counts of fourth-degree invasion of privacy for placing recording devices in public restrooms, Mantua Township police said in a post on Facebook.

    Last Friday, the owner of Gino’s Barbershop at 670 Bridgeton Pike contacted the Mantua police to report that a spy camera had been discovered inside a restroom at his business.

    Detectives determined that Doerrmann, who worked as a barber at the business, had allegedly placed hidden cameras inside the restrooms, which are used by customers, on multiple occasions, police said.

    Police said they executed search warrants at Doerrmann’s residence and for his electronic devices.

    As of Thursday, Doerrmann was being held at the Gloucester County Correctional Facility, records show.

    The owner of the business fully cooperated with investigators, police said, adding that the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information helpful to the case can contact Detective Corporal Jeffrey Krieger at jkrieger@mantuatownship.com.