While this was by far the hardest hit region, it was also a significant snowstorm for the Philadelphia and New York City areas, which both suffered occasional blizzard conditions and 12–15 in (30–38 cm) snow accumulations.

The strength of the storm, coupled with the extreme Arctic temperatures, created a light, fluffy snow which increased the snowfall totals.

After traveling across the Atlantic Ocean, the storm system hit parts of Great Britain and Ireland and the Scandinavian peninsula, causing even more widespread blackouts and a small number of deaths in the region.

Many Boston-area newscasters credit the New England Patriots football game on January 23 for keeping most travellers indoors, avoiding the pile-ups and endless lines of stuck cars that were the hallmark of the Blizzard of 1978.

With much of the snow cleared from the roads by the evening of January 24, snowpiles on street corners were in excess of ten feet high in some locations.