Peabody Declares Snow Emergency Ban 36 Hours Ahead Of Storm

PEABODY, MA — Peabody wasted no time waiting for the flakes to fly this weekend in declaring a snow emergency parking ban on Friday nearly 36 hours before snow is forecasted to intensify late Saturday night.

The parking ban declared Friday afternoon was set to go into effect Saturday night at 6 p.m.

• Heavy Snow Forecast Prompts Winter Storm Watch Across MA This Weekend

All vehicles parked on city streets are subject to ticketing and towing at that time.

The declaration comes as businesses look to recover from a cold January and the effects of "dry January" — when many adults refrain from alcohol for the entire month.

While snow forecasts are calling for 6 inches or more of snow from the latest storm, most forecasts have the snow beginning closer to midnight and not becoming heavy until the early morning hours of Sunday.

A second shot of snow this weekend is expected to bring some of the highest snow totals in three
years across much of eastern Massachusetts with the National Weather Service declaring a Winter Storm Watch for late Saturday night into Sunday.

Heavy snow is possible with 5 to 8 inches expected by Sunday afternoon, according to the NWS on Friday morning.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)