Weekend snowstorm hobbles Boston, still reeling from past storms
|
Version 0 of 1. A weekend storm dumped more than a foot of snow on Boston and much more on other parts of the Northeast, a region still digging out from a series of crippling snowstorms over the past few weeks. Boston got about 13 inches of snow Saturday and Sunday, while other parts of Massachusetts saw up to 20 inches, accumulations that Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said “significantly exceed” what officials were expecting. Baker, calling it “a little bit of deja vu all over again” noted that this weekend’s storm was the fourth major storm in the past three weeks. Some areas of New England reported nearly two feet of snow this weekend, including Acushnet, Mass., with 22 inches, and Salisbury with 20.5 inches, the Associated Press reported. At the easternmost tip of Maine, Lubec had two feet. Nearly 90 inches of snow have fallen in Boston this winter, the National Weather Service tweeted Sunday morning, making it the city’s third snowiest on record. And February is already the city’s snowiest month on record, according to the Weather Service. Although the snow stopped around midday in Boston, the area remained under a windchill advisory. Officials urged people to stay inside because windchills were expected to make already frigid temperatures feel well below zero. Subway, trolley, commuter rail and bus service was suspended on Sunday. The system will reopen with limited service Monday. Government offices and schools were scheduled to be closed for the Presidents’ Day holiday. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh declared a parking ban on Saturday that remained in effect throughout the weekend. Logan Airport canceled hundreds of flights over the weekend. The snow disrupted the governor’s Valentine’s Day plans. Baker had dubbed Feb. 14-21 “Valentine’s Day Week” in an effort to encourage people to go out shopping and to dine at local restaurants after more than 70 inches of snow blanketed the region over the past four weeks. Instead of shopping and dining, residents spent Saturday preparing for more shoveling. The snow stopped falling in Boston around noon Sunday as the sun started creeping through the clouds. Despite bitterly cold, howling winds, people made their way out of their houses, and cars were driving down snow-covered roads a short time later. Although it had stopped snowing, wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour blew snow from the massive piles that lined the streets, sometimes obscuring visibility. Private contractors from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority worked through the day to clear the tracks, which were not yet visible in Allston, a neighborhood in western Boston. Gina Crandell was on her way to Commonwealth Sports Club after being stuck inside all day. “I’ve been watching it out the window, so I could tell it’s pretty bad,” Crandell, who lives four blocks away in Boston, said. “But I can’t stay in all day, so just [take] one trip out and I’ll be home for the rest of the day.” Crandell said she doesn’t expect she will be alone. “It gets crowded on these days because everyone has no place else to go,” she said. Michael Malmrose, a 30-year-old graduate student at Boston University, said he was getting restless so he decided to take a walk to the Blue State Coffee on Commonwealth Avenue. “I can’t stay inside all day,” Malmrose said. “I wanted to get a cup of coffee, but it looks like my favorite coffee shop is closed, so I’m going to try the Starbucks across the street.” |