A strong nor'easter hit US Northeast (see MODIS Aqua satellite image acquired in the afternoon on December 17, 2020), stretching nearly 1000 miles from North Carolina to New England, producing the first winter storm of the season, and proving to be one of the biggest snow storm in New York, Philadelphia and other East Coast cities since a crippling 2016 blizzard as reported by New York Times. The storm temporarily shut down coronavirus testing facilities in several major cities.