MA Snowstorm: Road Cleanup Could Take Longer Than Usual

MASSACHUSETTS — Cleanup from a storm expected to dump up to 14 inches of snow on most of Massachusetts could take longer than usual, MassDOT Secretary Stephanie Pollack said Wednesday.

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. Pollack said many local towns that work with MassDOT to clear roadways have worker restrictions related to the pandemic that could cause delays.

Also on Patch: How Much Snow Has Fallen In Your Town?

"There could be places where only one lane is open on a road...The good news is we have about 90 percent staff availability, as do our contractors," Pollack said. "The problem is you can't deploy 100 percent of your equipment if you only have 90 percent of your staff."

Pollack joined Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito at a news conference ahead of Wednesday's storm. All three urged people to stay home from the time the storm starts between 7 and 11 p.m. Wednesday and the time crews can finish clearing roads.

Watch: Gov. Baker's news conference

"If you absolutely don't have to travel tonight or tomorrow, it would be great if you could stay put and let the road crews know what they need to do," Baker said.

Pollack said problems could linger even after roads are closed. There is a flash freeze predicted during the storm, meaning cleared but wet roadways could quickly become "skating rinks."

The Latest Forecast

Snow will start falling across Massachusetts between 7 and 11 p.m. Wednesday, and by the time it ends midday Thursday, most parts of the state will have been blanketed with 8 to 14 inches, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service in Boston.

Snow will be light and fluffy in most parts of the state, but it could be heavier and wetter in southeastern Massachusetts and on Cape Cod. Cape Cod will see lower snowfall totals than the rest of the state, with rain mixing in with the snow early Thursday morning. Wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour mean several parts of Massachusetts could see blizzard conditions.

Snowfall will be heaviest between midnight and 8 a.m. Thursday. The snow will stop between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday as the storm moves from west to east across Massachusetts.

Local Updates

Patch reporters are updating stories with the latest, local storm information and cancellations in the following towns:

• Andover
• Arlington
• Barnstable
• Belmont
• Beverly
• Boston
• Braintree
• Brookline
• Burlington
• Chelmsford
• Danvers
• Dedham
• Falmouth
• Foxborough
• Lexington
• Malden
• Marblehead
• Medfield
• Medford
• Milford
• Newton
• North Andover
• Peabody
• Plymouth
• Reading
• Salem
• Somerville
• Stoneham
• Stoughton
• Swampscott
• Tewksbury
• Waltham
• Westford
• Wilmington
• Woburn
• Worcester

Transportation Updates

The MBTA said people planning to use public transit Thursday should allow extra time and expect delays. The commuter rail has been running on a reduced schedule because of employee coronavirus illnesses, and Keolis, which operates the commuter rail for the MBTA, said that service reduction will remain in place during the storm.

"We’re closely monitoring the forecast and will have teams deployed across the network to treat infrastructure and passenger areas as snow begins to accumulate," Keolis CEO David Scorey said. "Our goal is to minimize the storm’s impact on service to ensure passengers who need to travel can use Commuter Rail as an alternative to driving."

MassDOT began pre-treating highways on Wednesday, and crews planned to work throughout the night to clear highways.

Here's What Boston's Top Meteorologists Are Predicting

While most television news meteorologists were in line with the National Weather Service's prediction of 8 to 14 inches Wednesday morning, 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.

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).