The storm also generated a rare meteorological phenomenon known as thundersnow in which thunder and lightning occur concurrently with the falling snow.

On December 25, while situated in eastern New Mexico, two areas of low pressure interacted with another that dropped down from central Canada[6] and an ample amount of Gulf stream energy; as a result, the storm carried a fairly large amount of moisture influx from the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean.

The core of the storm eventually moved southeast into the Gulf of Mexico then abruptly turned sharply northeastward into the Florida panhandle and state of Georgia as it merged with an upper-level low pressure system located near Virginia.

On December 27, the storm developed into a powerful nor'easter that buffeted the East Coast, reaching its peak intensity of 961 millibars (28.4 inHg),[7] equal in pressure to that found in a Category 3 hurricane.

Windstorm Benjamin continued to moved eastwards across the Atlantic, and the storm began to impact Western Europe on January 8.

[9] For the next couple of days, Windstorm Benjamin held its intensity as it continued moving northeastward, before weakening on January 11, due to land interaction with the northern coast of Norway.

[citation needed] Areas in and around New York City, which were most impacted by the storm, reported between 12 and 32 inches (30 and 81 cm) of snowfall by Monday morning.

The strong easterly winds also piled up water along the eastern coast of Massachusetts, leading to major coastal flood damage.

Late on December 25, WPVI-TV announced that the National Weather Service had issued blizzard warnings for northern and parts of central New Jersey, New York City, Long Island and coastal southern New England.

[16] On December 26, several closures were announced on KYW-1060 (the all-news radio station in Philadelphia), including the Please Touch Museum and Independence National Historical Park.

[22] Amtrak's Acela Express and regular Northeast Regional service was shut down completely between Boston and New York.

[28] The MTA ran on a limited schedule, even on Tuesday morning, with many above ground subway lines not functioning.

Many plows became stuck in the snow that had accumulated on the streets and several could not get through as many residents had simply abandoned their cars in the middle of roads once it became too hazardous or impossible to move.

Both Mayor Bloomberg and the chief of the sanitation department were urging residents to stay indoors and not shovel snow back onto the streets that had already been plowed.

Another possible cause was that Mayor Bloomberg had previously laid off 400 New York City Sanitation workers due to budget cuts; therefore, fewer plows were at work.

In addition, some city workers who are responsible for managing the snow removal process had taken the day off from work during the storm due to the Christmas holiday.

On December 30, the New York Post reported that several sanitation workers confessed that cleanup was intentionally slowed down to protest the aforementioned budget cuts.

[30] On January 3, 2011, WCBS-TV reported that prosecutors had obtained a video of two sanitation trucks driving down 155th Street in Whitestone, Queens after the blizzard with their plows raised so as not to remove the snow.

[32] A man who attempted suicide by jumping from a ninth-story window was saved when he landed on a huge pile of garbage that had accumulated during the blizzard.

[33] Two casualties were reported as the result of emergency workers being unable to reach those in need: a newborn baby and an elderly woman.

When the storm was off the coast of New Jersey, bands of heavy snow formed one after another, increasing already-hefty snowfall amounts even further.

The fact of the high winds caused the blizzard warnings to be issued by the Mount Holly, New Jersey (Philadelphia, PA area) National Weather Service officials.

Motorists had to be rescued the following day as snow continued to pile up and trap them on interstates and local streets, which themselves became completely impassable.

Heavy snow and winds of up to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) caused a gas station roof to collapse in North Haven, and widespread tree damage and power outages throughout the state.

Service on the Metro-North New Haven Line and its branches was suspended on Monday due to equipment and switch failures caused by the storm.

Blizzard conditions forced numerous road closures and resulted in the death of a minivan driver on December 27 near Fredericton, Prince Edward Island.