Before the blizzard struck, meteorologists had been anticipating that the impending storm would be "historic" and "record-breaking", with predictions of snowfall accumulations in major metropolitan areas such as New York City of up to 2–3 feet (24–36 in).

The storm system quickly moved southeastward into the Upper Midwest during the evening of January 24, taking a path typical of an Alberta clipper.

[citation needed] At the height of the storm, a 300-mile (480 km) stretch of Interstate 95 from northern New Jersey to the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border was closed in conjunction with travel bans in the impacted areas.

[citation needed] In preparation for the winter storm, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation deployed approximately 350 salting trucks to treat major roadways.

[21] On January 26, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed a disaster emergency proclamation in an attempt to distribute state resources as quickly as possible.

[22] Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter closed municipal offices and schools for January 27 and cancelled trash collection for the day.

[23] The South Brunswick Police Department said in a press release on January 25 that additional officers and public works staff would be on duty throughout the storm.

[25] A travel ban was issued later that day, to be put in effect on January 26 at 11 pm; Amtrak and New Jersey Transit services were also suspended.

[20] In a statement on January 25, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urged residents to take their necessary safety precautions and prepare for the possibility of disrupted commute on Monday and Tuesday.

At its major transportation facilities, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey readied more than 200 piece of snow equipment at its airports, more than 60 pieces of snow equipment for its bridges and tunnels, hundreds of thousands of gallons of liquid anti-icer chemicals and thousands of tons of solid de-icers, plow-equipped trains, liquid snow-melting agent trains, and a "jet engine" plow.

The New York State Thruway Authority activated its emergency operations ahead of the winter storm and was expected to supply 338 snowplows, 18 snowblowers, 55 front-end loaders, and approximately 126,000 tons of salt.

The governor announced that more than 600 crews would be working to pre-treat major roads, while he issued a declaration of civil preparedness emergency to coordinate resources during the storm.

A statewide travel ban was issued effective at midnight on January 27, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced that it would be closed that day.

[34] The Fall River, Massachusetts Department of Public Works gathered more than 800 tons of salt and began to treat major roadways in advance of the storm.

[35] Environment Canada issued special weather statements to all of the Maritime provinces on January 23, warning of the future developing storm.

On January 26 Environment Canada issued Winter Storm Warnings for all of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and central to southern New Brunswick.

Sean Urda, a 17-year-old student from John Glenn High School, was killed when he struck a light pole while snow tubing with two other people in Huntington.

[45] WWE had events scheduled to take place in Hartford, Connecticut, and in Boston, Massachusetts, but had to cancel them, instead choosing to air Royal Rumble highlights.

Significant flooding was reported in Scituate, Massachusetts, where National Guardsmen were sent to rescue people from the high waters[46] and power was cut to some areas of the town to prevent fires from breaking out.

Sources:[52][53][54][55] In April 2015, President Obama made a federal disaster declaration for the January 26–27 snow, allowing some reimbursement for damages.