Nor'easter Piles Up Snow; Parking Ban Underway

Arlington MA

17 December, 2020

3:21 PM

Description

Your Arlington Last Updated: 17 December 2020 Written by Patch, town email Snow emergency announced >> UPDATED, Dec. 17: A major storm crossing the Midwest this week turned into the seasons' first Nor'easter as hit New England late on Wednesday, Dec, 16. Snow began falling across Massachusetts by 11 p.m., and by the time it is to end midday Thursday, most parts of the state will get 8 to 14 inches, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service in Boston, as reported by Arlington Patch, a YourArlington partner. See snow totals at the National Weather Service site. At 9 a.m. Arlington had not been reported yet. Wakefield reports 12 inches. In-person learning was canceled at Arlington's Catholic schools and at Minuteman. The Arlington Public School website had no announcement, but Channel 5 listed the morning as remote learning. Snow was predicted to be light and fluffy in most parts of the state, but it could be heavier and wetter in southeastern Massachusetts and on Cape Cod, where there is expected to be lower snowfall totals than the rest of the state, with rain mixing in with the snow early Thursday. Wind gusts of up to 40 mph mean several parts of Massachusetts could see blizzard conditions. Snowfall was expected to be heaviest between midnight and 8 a.m. Thursday. The snow is expected to stop between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday. Gov. Charlie Baker and members of his leadership team urged Massachusetts residents to stay home if possible during the big snowstorm expected to hit the state Wednesday evening. "We just got off a phone call with the National Weather Service, and except for the Cape and Islands ... all of Massachusetts tomorrow is likely to see at least a foot of snow," Baker said during an afternoon briefing Wednesday at the State House. The governor said "we're obviously asking people to stay off the roads and especially tomorrow, if you can, stay home. That would be the preferred option." What Boston's top meteorologists predict While most television news meteorologists were in line with the National Weather Service's prediction of 8 to 14 inches, Kelly Ann Cicalese of WCVB was calling for as much as 18 inches in some parts of Massachusetts. Her Wednesday morning forecast followed last night's prediction from her colleague, Harvey Leonard, who was forecasting 15 inches. Boston 25's Shiri Spear and NBC Boston's Matt Noyes were also calling for 12 to 18 inches in most parts of Massachusetts. Noyes said the dry air that arrived in the area Wednesday morning could mean lower than previously-predicted snowfall totals for southeastern New Hampshire. was also calling for 8-14 inches in most parts of Massachusetts. WBUR's Dave Epstein was calling for 8 to 14 inches in most parts of Massachusetts, but said the hardest call was for southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. He's predicting 4 to 8 inches on the South Shore and upper Cape Cod and between 1 and 3 inches on the outer Cape. The state's top transportation official warned that cleanup from a storm expected to dump up to 14 inches of snow on most of Massachusetts could take longer than usual, Patch reported Dec. 16. While the state is deploying almost all of its nearly 3,000 pieces of snow-removal equipment, the high rate of snowfall per hour in the forecast and the coronavirus pandemic could mean it will take longer than usual to clear roadways. MassDOT Secretary Stephanie Pollack said many local towns that work with MassDOT to clear roadways have worker restrictions related to the pandemic that could cause delays. Important phone numbers If you experience a power outage, please print, or otherwise make available the following list of phone numbers. Report downed electrical wires: call 911 and Eversource at 1-800-592-2000. Report a power outage to Eversource at 1-800-592-2000 or at eversource.com. Report a downed street tree or limb to DPW dispatch at 781-316-3301. During a storm, all are encouraged to exercise caution when traveling and park off-street to help facilitate snow removal operations and monitor local media for weather updates. After a storm, residents and businesses are reminded to keep public walkways clear in accordance with Town bylaws. Any snow emergency/parking ban notification will be sent via the usual Town communication channels, including Arlington Alerts (phone, text, email). It is recommended all residents be signed up for Arlington Alerts. Connect here >> The Town of Arlington is dependent on the cooperation of all residents and business owners to keep our public ways safe during the winter season. Storm updates and policies may be found at arlingtonma.gov/snow. Yard waste covered in snow will not be collected: Arlington's yard waste program will end during the week of Dec. 7-11 on your regular collection day. Please remember to have all yard waste out at the curb no later than 7:00 a.m. on your regular trash/recycling/yard waste collection day. Yard waste covered in snow will not be collected. After this upcoming week, yard waste collection will resume in April 2021. Additional information may be found at arlingtonma.gov/recycle. For future updates and snow policies, please visit arlingtonma.gov. YourArlington.com has provided news and opinion about Arlington, Mass., since 2006. Publisher Bob Sprague is a former editor at The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Arlington Advocate. Read more at https://www.yourarlington.com/about.