01:31 The Winter of 2018-19 One to Remember Meteorologist Ari Sarsalari looks back at some of the worst of the winter weather.

At a Glance A NYC doorman died while shoveling snow.

Snow emergencies were declared in Boston and Philadelphia.

Nearly 4,000 flights were canceled because of the storm. A New York City doorman died while shoveling snow as Winter Storm Niko brought blizzard conditions and rapid snow accumulation to the region.

Thursday, 59-year-old Miguel Gonzalez died while shoveling snow on the Upper East Side of New York , CBS New York reports. Authorities say the doorman slipped and crashed through a plate glass window around 9:30 a.m. He was taken to Metropolitan Hospital with injuries to the neck and face and was later pronounced dead.

Snow emergencies were declared in two major Northeast metro areas, Philadelphia and Boston, as the rapidly strengthening storm blanketed the Northeast with up to 2 feet of snow in places. Thundersnow was also reported at several locations around the region.

(LOCAL IMPACTS: Boston | New York | Philadelphia )

Governors in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, as well as New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio urged people to stay off the roads Thursday, the Associated Press reports, to keep them clear for plows and emergency vehicles. Despite the warnings, the rapid accumulation of snow caught many drivers out in the open.

"It's pretty nuts here," Felecia White told the Associated Press as she and friends hunkered down in a restaurant in Newport, Rhode Island, waiting for the weather to improve. "Even with four-wheel drive, you can't do anything. You can't see across the street."

Connecticut State Police responded to more than 600 calls during the storm, including 68 accidents with four injuries and several jackknifed semi trucks that closed stretches of Interstate 95. New Jersey State Police reduced speed limits to 35 mph along the 122-mile length of the New Jersey Turnpike but still fielded more 600 calls for assistance.

In New York, dozens of motorists were stranded on Long Island after they couldn't make it up icy ramps, and scores of others were around the NYC Metro area, the Associated Press reports. New York Gov. Mario Cuomo himself stopped to give aid to a driver stuck in a snowbank in Westchester County, helping to attach tow cables from his security detail's SUV onto the man's car.

Nearly 4,000 flights were canceled nationwide because of the storm as of Thursday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com. The cancellations include at least 380 flights going in and out of LaGuardia and 376 flights at Newark. Boston Logan International saw 351 cancellations.

Numerous cities closed schools on Thursday ahead of the storm, and schools in Boston, Hartford, Connecticut and Waterbury Connecticut announced they would remain closed on Friday as well.

Here are some of the top snow totals from the storm: Connecticut: 19.0 inches in East Hartford; 18.0 inches in Suffield; 18.0 inches in Bloomfield; 17.5 in Winsted; 16.8 inches in Somers; 14.3 inches in West Hartford; 10.3 inches in Bridgeport

Maine: 24.0 inches near Cooper; 20.0 inches in Perry; 16.8 inches near Berwick; 15 inches near Winter Harbor; 11.0 inches in Wells; 8.0 inches in South Portland

Massachusetts: 19.0 inches in East Longmeadow; 18.0 inches in Ludlow; 17 inches in Westfield; 16.0 inches in Springfield; 12.9 inches in Worcester; 10.7 inches in Boston/Logan Airport;

New Hampshire: 17.0 inches in Nottingham; 16.5 inches in Merrimack; 15.0 inches in Litchfield; 8.0 inches in Concord

New Jersey: 11.3 inches in West Milford; 11.1 inches in Highland Lakes; 10.3 inches in Wantage; 10.2 inches near Montague; 7.8 inches in Newark

New York: 16.3 inches in Gilderland; 14.4 inches in Farmington; 13.7 inches at Islip Airport; 13.5 inches in Eastport; 12.8 inches near Albany; 10.6 inches at Islip; 10 inches at La Guardia Airport; 9.4 inches in Central Park; 8.3 inches at JFK Airport (NYC)

Pennsylvania: 11.0 inches in Flinton and near Champion; 10.8 inches in Clarks Summit; 7.1 inches in Allentown

Rhode Island: 14.5 inches in North Foster; East Providence: 11.9 inches; 10.9 inches in Providence

Vermont: 9.0 inches in Woodford; 8.2 inches in Manchester; 8.0 inches in Putney</s>There’s no doubt this storm has caused major disruptions here in Southern New England. Fortunately, schools are closed and many businesses shut down for the day. There still have been big problems on area highways, however. Eyewitness News Reporter Walt Buteau described a scene on I-95 as being like the Blizzard of ’78. Yeah, he said it.

Blizzard Warnings were issued for most of Rhode Island and all of Southeast Massachusetts, and it looks like the official blizzard criteria has been reached in a few communities already. First, here is the definition of a blizzard.

Providence (TF Green Airport), unofficially met the blizzard criteria described above. Winds have gusted to 36kts frequently from 11:15AM until 2PM. Visibility was 1/4 mile for most of that time with heavy snow.

Block Island, it appears, has met blizzard criteria (below).

Out on Block Island, frequent gusts were measured between 36 and 52kts. Visibility was around zero for a couple hours while heavy snow was falling.

In New Bedford, snow was falling with visibilities of 1/4 mile or less and gusts between 35 and 40mph.

As of 3:30PM, Westerly was very close to verifying as getting a blizzard. Many other areas got blizzard-like conditions, but the conditions haven’t persisted long enough for official blizzard status.

The National Weather Service makes the ultimate determination as to whether communities got official blizzard conditions.</s>We officially had a blizzard yesterday! Here is what you need to get a blizzard:

If you are a stickler for rules and want the exact wording from the National Weather Service, here you go:

“THE DEFINITION OF A BLIZZARD IS THAT FALLING AND/OR BLOWING SNOW

REDUCES VISIBILITY TO BELOW 1/4 MILE ALONG WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OR

WINDS THAT FREQUENTLY GUST TO 35 MPH OR MORE…AND THAT THESE ARE

Many areas in New England qualified for a blizzard, they include Westerly, Providence, Block Island, North Smithfield, and New Bedford.

With blizzard conditions for 5 hours, Providence blew away the 3 hour minimum! See the NWS report below:

“AT PROVIDENCE RI…BLIZZARD CRITERIA WERE MET FOR 5 HOURS AND 18 MINUTES…FROM 1051 AM TO 409 PM.”

The fact that these blizzard conditions occurred during the middle of the day made for difficult and impossible travel at times. One of the drivers interviewed by WPRI compared it to the Blizzard of 78. While snow totals were not even close to the Blizzard of 78, the scenes on Thursday of cars stuck on roads and highways did bring back some of those memories. Fortunately, the Blizzard of 2017 did not bring the tragic consequences that we experienced during the Blizzard of 78.

How Does This Blizzard Compare with Recent Blizzards?

Before we get into the stats, it seems that the general feeling is that although the storm yesterday was significant (and even scary for drivers who were out on the roads), the Blizzard of 2013 was much worse. This is probably because the Blizzard of 2013 had more snow, more wind, and the snow that fell was wet/heavy. That combination created widespread power outages, and many neighborhoods went days without getting the power restored. Here are some comparison stats:

The snow that fell yesterday had some weight to it; in fact it had an 11 to 1 snow to liquid ratio. That’s pretty much the same type of snow that fell from the Blizzard of 2013, expect we had about a half a foot more of it in 2013! The Blizzard of 2015 had the most snow out of these past recent blizzards, but the 17 to 1 snow to liquid ratio made for a fluffier snowfall and easier cleanup.</s>The February Blizzard of 2017 is official. The National Weather Service in New York has confirmed that several towns in Connecticut saw blizzard conditions on Thursday, February 9, 2017.

Chester, Bridgeport, Oxford, New Haven and Groton all experienced at least three straight hours of heavy snow with 1/4 mile or lower visibility and frequent winds over 35 mph. All locations experienced blizzard conditions for at least four hours, with New Haven at the top of the list. The blizzard lasted in the Elm City for 5 hours and 36 minutes from just before 9:00 am until 2:30 pm.

See the blizzard summary prepared by the National Weather Service in NY.</s>If you're wondering why Environment Canada hasn't issued a blizzard warning for the winter storm coming Thursday night, read on.
• Thursday night storm to be 'much, much more intense'
• Have a look at this week's wild temperature swings

Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for P.E.I., but not a blizzard warning. CBC meteorologist Brennan Allen is clear about how you should react to this.

"Honestly, it's going to look like a blizzard outside. It doesn't matter what the warning's called," said Allen.

"I'm warning you to stay off the roads."

Environment Canada describes a blizzard as snowfall that creates visibility of less than 400 metres, with sustained winds of 40 km/h or greater, that lasts for a period of four or more hours. By that criteria, a blizzard is clearly on the way.

The forecast is for heavy snow to start at 8 p.m., and for the winds to start blowing up at 50 km/h at 11 p.m. The heavy snow is expected to continue until 7 a.m., and by that time the wind will be blowing 70 km/h.

That's eight hours of blizzard conditions, which would even qualify it in the North, where the criteria is for these conditions to last six hours.

So, why no blizzard warning?

It's not because there is no blizzard coming. The definition for a winter storm warning says:

When conditions are favourable for the development of severe and potentially dangerous winter weather, including: a blizzard.

The definition goes on to discuss further conditions that could lead to a winter storm warning, including freezing rain or extreme wind chill. In this case, there is a storm surge tack onto the warning.

That's the long answer. The short answer is yes, that's a blizzard on the horizon.
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS | Tourism sign laws too strict, says MLA</s>It was a gigantic quarter for Activision Blizzard.

The publisher announced today that it achieved GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles, or earned) revenues of $2.01 billion, up a whopping 49 percent from the same period for last year, $1.35 billion. It’s a record fourth quarter performance for one of the world’s largest video game companies.

Activision Blizzard earned $6.61 billion for the full year. This is up 42 percent from 2015, which earned $4.66 billion.

“Our record performance in 2016 further strengthened our position as the world’s leading standalone interactive entertainment company,” Bobby Kotick, chief executive officer of Activision Blizzard, noted in the financial release. “For the quarter and the year, we delivered our highest revenues, non-GAAP redefined operating margins and earnings per share, well surpassing our own expectations.”

The stock market is reacting positively to the earnings.

Activision Blizzard had 447 million monthly active users in the quarter. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, the year’s best-selling game, was a big part of the publisher’s success. Blizzard alone contributed greatly, earning a record 41 million monthly active users. This includes players from Overwatch, the team-based shooter that came out in May and already has 25 million players. World of Warcraft saw a 10 percent increase in monthly active users thanks to the launch of its Legion expansion, while the digital card game Hearthstone grew its monthly active users by 20 percent in 2016.

King, the Candy Crush Saga mobile developer that Activision bought in early 2016, had 405 million monthly actiive users for the year and 355 million for the quarter. Both of those numbers were down year-over-year.

“The launch of Blizzard’s Overwatch created a major new franchise, while King’s mobile advertising tests are very promising as the basis for meaningful new revenue streams,” Kotick noted. “We accelerated our efforts in esports and consumer products, enabling more ways to celebrate and connect to our communities. Thanks to the strength of our established franchises and the vitality of our new initiatives, we are well positioned for growth in the years ahead.”</s>SANTA MONICA (dpa-AFX) - Video game publisher Activision Blizzard (ATVI) continues to see significant strength after gapping open sharply higher. Shares of Activision Blizzard are currently up by 17.4 percent after reaching a record intraday high.



The jump by Activision Blizzard comes after the company reported fourth quarter earnings and revenues that came in above analyst estimates.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX</s>Shares of video game giant Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) soared as much as 19.9% higher on Friday after reporting another outstanding quarter. At 12:25 p.m. EST, the stock had settled down a little bit, but was still up 16.9% on the day.

Fourth-quarter revenue jumped 49% to $2.01 billion and net income jumped 60% to $254 million, or $0.34 per share. On a non-GAAP basis, which is a better indicator of cash flow in the quarter, revenue was still $2.01 billion, but operating income more than doubled to $681 million, and earnings per share of $0.65 crushed Activision Blizzard’s own guidance of $0.40.

Activision Blizzard’s operations and financial results are firing on all cylinders, with great content driving engagement, which drives cash flow and is then funneled back into creating great content. The company has also made a swift transition to modern monetization strategies of in-game purchases and even advertising on mobile platforms.

Management can’t increase its own guidance fast enough to keep up with results, so even guidance of $6 billion in revenue and $1.70 in non-GAAP EPS for 2017 should be seen as a low estimate given current results. I think Activision Blizzard is being cautious because a single flop on the game side can lead to a bad year financially.

What should please investors is that Activision Blizzard’s business model has evolved to more recurring revenue from subscriptions or regular game updates than the make-or-break game release model of the past. This gives faster feedback into product development, which allows the company to adapt quickly to market demands. And given how well the strategy is going, the sky seems to be the limit for the stock.

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Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Activision Blizzard. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.</s>This whole “games as a service” thing is really working out for Activision Blizzard.

The publisher had a record fourth quarter and a huge year for 2016. A large part of that success is thanks to money made from in-game purchases, such as card packs in Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone (which leads a potential $1.4 billion card game market). Activision Blizzard noted that it earned $3.6 billion from in-game sales in 2016. That is up more than double from 2015’s $1.6 billion.

Part of that success comes from the fact that Activision bought mobile studio King earlier in 2016, which makes free-to-play hits like Candy Crush Saga. But even when excluding King, sales from in-game content still grew 30 percent year-over-over.

A lot of that growth comes from Overatch. Blizzard’s team-based shooter launched last May, which already has more than 25 million players. It is not a free-to-play game, but players can buy loot crates, which unlock random cosmetic items. Blizzard consistently creates holiday events that make unique costumes, voice lines, and more available from loot crates for a limited time. These seasonal events encourage players to spend more money.

Activision also singled out in-game content sales for World of Warcraft as Call of Duty: Black Ops III as drivers for the increase.</s>Activision Blizzard, Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI) can't seem to do anything wrong at the moment. Its games are a hit, revenue is pouring in, and management can't raise its guidance fast enough.

This is an incredible wave for investors to ride and the fourth-quarter numbers released Thursday after the market closed showed another outstanding quarter for the game company. Here's a look at the highlights.

The figures above are on a GAAP basis. On a non-GAAP basis, the numbers were even more impressive. Operating income jumped from $284 million a year ago to $681 million and operating margin was 34% in the fourth quarter. On a per-share basis, earnings were $0.65, which trounced guidance of $0.40 in earnings for the quarter.

What happened with Activision Blizzard this quarter?

The revenue and earnings figures at Activision Blizzard are outstanding. But, as highlighted in my earnings preview, engagement numbers are an important indicator of the company's long-term health. Here are the highlights on a segment basis.
• Monthly active users (MAUs) at Activision jumped by 5 million in the quarter to 51 million. Blizzard's MAUs fell by 1 million sequentially to 41 million, but had a record for the fourth quarter. King Digital's MAUs fell from 394 million to 355 million sequentially.
• Digital channel revenues were a record $1.45 billion and in-game revenues were over $1 billion for the quarter and $3.6 billion for the year, up 126% from a year ago.
• Users spent 43 billion hours playing Activision Blizzard's suite of games in 2016, close to the 45 billion hours people spent watching Netflix. If you want a good engagement metric, that's it.
• One of the future growth drivers is e-sports franchises. Major League Gaming saw social platform views rise 50% versus a year ago and the COD World League delivered 120 million video views with double the engagement from a year ago.

What management had to say

CEO Bobby Kotick said the Blizzard Overwatch launch was a huge success for the company with the fastest launch to 25 million players. He's also encouraged by King's mobile advertising tests. If mobile advertising can be launched successfully, it would be a way to monetize hundreds of millions of users who spend time playing the company's games each day but don't necessarily spend money in-app.

The cash flow from the business is so strong that management announced a $1 billion stock repurchase program over the next two years. And management also plans to pay down $500 million of debt.

Guidance for 2017 is for $6 billion in revenue and earnings of $0.72 per share on a GAAP basis and $1.70 per share on a non-GAAP basis. But given Activision Blizzard's recent history of crushing expectations, the guidance figures should be taken with a grain of salt.

Activision Blizzard is hitting on all cylinders with great games, high engagement, and new revenue streams forming for the business. Long term, the company is in a great position to benefit from increased gaming, whether it's on mobile, PC, or console games.

10 stocks we like better than Activision Blizzard

When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Activision Blizzard wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

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Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Activision Blizzard. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
A major blizzard hits the northeastern United States, cancelling more than 2,400 flights.