TOPPING THE LIST: Malden had ‘jackpot’ snowfall total in Greater Boston region from ‘Blizzard of 2026’

This week’s blizzard was ‘a doozy’ but not in record book’s Top 10; Everett, Revere & Saugus all made ‘Regional Top 10’ for storm

By Steve Freker

It was the first bona fide blizzard since 2022, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Though the snowfall added up to an amount not even the greatest number for this calendar year, it was still a substantial amount: just about 17 inches for Boston overall. This was the second major storm to hit the Eastern Seaboard in as many months, with this past January 25-26, 2026, Winter Storm Fern cascading some 23.2 inches on the region, helping push that weather event to become the eighth largest storm of all-time in the Boston area.

As for this past week’s Blizzard of 2026, it was certainly “a doozy,” as Mass. Governor Maura Healey declared in her major press conference on Monday afternoon, just after the peak of the blizzard. The NWS reported that snowfall totals in Boston reached 16.9 inches at 7 p.m. on Monday, placing it in the Top 20 largest storms at that moment.

Who knew that in the Advocate readership area Malden would own the “jackpot” number of snowfall totals, with the most inches of snow in both the Greater Boston region and Middlesex County overall: a whopping 20 inches! See listing below.

The other three communities served by the Advocate all fell into the Greater Boston area’s Top 10 for this storm, with Everett (17.1 inches) not far behind Malden in total snowfall and Revere (16.5 inches) and Saugus (16.0 inches) just after Boston in their community snowfall totals.

As of January 2026, Boston’s Top 10 snowstorms are led by the 2003 Presidents’ Day Storm (27.6 inches) and the 1978 Blizzard (27.1 inches). Recent major storms include the January 2022 blizzard (23.6 inches) and the Jan. 25-26, 2026, storm (23.2 inches), which rank highly in the region’s record-setting history.

Top 10 Greater Boston

Feb. 23/24 ‘Blizzard of 2026’

1. Malden — 20.0 inches
2. Winchester — 18.5 inches
3. Chelsea — 18.1 inches
4. Wakefield — 18.0 inches
5. Stoneham — 17.5 inches
6. Everett — 17.1 inches
7. Boston — 16.9 inches
8. Revere — 16.5 inches
9. Saugus — 16.0 inches
10. Medford — 15.7 inches

Top 10 Heaviest Snowstorms in Boston

1. Feb. 17-18, 2003: 27.6 inches (Presidents’ Day Storm).
2. Feb. 6-7, 1978: 27.1 inches (Blizzard of ’78).
3. Feb. 24-27, 1969: 26.3 inches.
4. March 31-April 1, 1997: 25.4 inches (April Fools’ Day Blizzard).
5. Feb. 8-9, 2013: 24.9 inches (Nemo).
6. Jan. 26-28, 2015: 24.6 inches.
7. Jan. 28-29, 2022: 23.6 inches.
8. Jan. 25-26, 2026: 23.2 inches (Fern).
9. Feb. 7-9, 2015: 23.1 inches.

10. Jan. 20-22, 2005: 22.5 inches.