One New Jersey home-owner stayed heat whereas Winter Storm Fern hammered the Garden State Sunday — as he despatched a robotic snowblower outdoors to do the soiled work.
Tom Moloughney, a northern New Jersey resident and host of a preferred YouTube channel targeted on electrical automobiles and charging tech, posted movies on X exhibiting his autonomous Yarbo snow blower clearing his roughly 6,000-square-foot driveway during the storm.
“So far, it’s kicking A$$!” Moloughney wrote Sunday morning, including that the machine would recharge to about 80% after roughly 1.25 hours earlier than robotically heading again out to renew work.
Tom Moloughney of northern New Jersey managed to program an autonomous snowblower to filter out his 6,000-square-foot driveway during Sunday’s blizzard. StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney/YouTube
Winter Storm Fern has descended upon NJ this morning and my @yarboglobal autonomous snow blower went into motion.
This goes to be an incredible take a look at to see if this robotic can deal with a 6,000 sq.ft. driveway during a significant winter storm.
I’m inside sipping a espresso whereas it is doing… pic.twitter.com/52DuOGUc9a— Tom Moloughney (@tommolog) January 25, 2026
The posts, which racked up lots of of 1000’s of views, confirmed the robotic finishing its first go, returning to its charging dock and making ready to restart by itself.
“This is going to be a great test to see if this robot can handle a 6,000 sq.ft. driveway during a major winter storm,” Moloughney wrote. “I’m inside sipping a coffee while it’s doing its job and so far so good!”
Winter Storm Fern swept via New Jersey starting early Sunday, bringing a messy mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain that difficult cleanup throughout a lot of the state.
Parts of northern New Jersey noticed about 4-5 inches of snow, together with roughly 5 inches in Bergen County and greater than 4 inches in Essex and Union counties.
Central areas ranged from roughly 3 to six inches, whereas South Jersey usually picked up 4 to five inches, with decrease totals in some coastal and airport places the place precipitation turned icy.
Winter Storm Fern was no match for Moloughney’s autonomous snowblower, manufactured by Yarbo. tommolog/X
Autonomous Snow Blower Update:
The @yarboglobal accomplished the primary go of the driveway and went again to the charging dock.
After about 1.25hrs, it is going to be 80% charged and can robotically return and proceed to clear the driveway.
I plan to run it during the whole thing of the… pic.twitter.com/JiP8JGZ93t— Tom Moloughney (@tommolog) January 25, 2026
Forecasters stated Winter Storm Fern was anticipated to go away important snow on the bottom throughout the state by the point it strikes out, with totals various sharply by area.
Northwestern and much northern elements of the state have been forecast to see the heaviest accumulations, starting from 12 to 18 inches — with remoted areas probably topping 20 inches — whereas northeastern and central New Jersey have been anticipated to complete with roughly 8 to 12 inches.
The $5,000 machine is seen in motion as it clears out snow from Moloughney’s driveway. tommolog/X
It will run for abotu 1.5 hrs after which go to the dock and recharge. Once it is at 80% (it takes somewhat over an hour to cost from 15% to 80%) it’ll go away the dock and proceed clearing. It will proceed to try this till the driveway is totally finished twice. I’ll then ship it…
— Tom Moloughney (@tommolog) January 25, 2026
Snowfall totals have been forecast to drop nearer to the coast and farther south, with the Jersey Shore and southern counties projected to see about 4 to 10 inches amid sleet and freezing rain that might restrict pure snow accumulation.
As the storm unfolded, Moloughney stated he would maintain his Yarbo snow blower operating all through, permitting it to clear snow in a number of passes somewhat than ready for the storm to finish.
He restarted the machine remotely when contemporary snow collected, letting it return to its charging dock, recharge, and head again out by itself — a method he stated helped maintain his lengthy driveway manageable even as snow and ice continued to pile up.
Moloughney stated the Yarbo snowblower returned to its charging dock after finishing a go, earlier than robotically heading again out to proceed clearing snow. tommolog/X
Earlier this month, Moloughney posted a separate YouTube video reviewing the Yarbo’s efficiency during a New Year’s snowstorm, providing a extra detailed have a look at the machine’s real-world limitations.
The footage confirmed the robotic navigating pre-mapped paths alongside his lengthy driveway, stopping robotically when it detected close by folks and returning to its charging dock when battery ranges dropped.
Moloughney stated the unit accomplished the decrease portion of his driveway on a single cost earlier than recharging, then efficiently resumed clearing snow whereas he was away at a health care provider’s appointment. At one level, he restarted the system remotely from about 20 miles away after one other inch of snow fell.
The take a look at was not with out points.
We might get 18″ of snow. This can only handle up to 12″. Plus that is the way it’s meant to work. You let it continously work during the storm clearing the driveway a number of instances so by the point the snow stops, all it is doing is ending up the final go.
— Tom Moloughney (@tommolog) January 25, 2026
Moloughney stated the robotic turned caught early after hitting an icy mound left behind by a earlier plowing, and later continued working with just one facet of its auger spinning after a shear pin broke — an issue he didn’t understand till he returned residence.
In his next-day evaluation, Moloughney gave the machine a “C to C-plus” grade, citing tough situations and his personal preliminary setup selections.
“This was not an easy snow,” he stated, noting that roughly an inch of ice from hours of hail was topped by about 1 to 2 inches of snow.
The Post has sought remark from Moloughney and Yarbo.
