March Nor'easter: Salem Declares Snow Emergency Parking Ban Tuesday

SALEM, MA — A snow emergency parking ban was set to begin in Salem early Tuesday night with wind-driven rain expected to turn to snow over the course of the day.

City officials said that "out of an abundance of caution" the snow parking ban will begin citywide at 5 p.m. with the ban starting downtown at 8 p.m. Reduced parking garage rates will begin at 3 p.m.

More alternative parking during a Salem snow emergency can be found here.

Salem Public Schools were to have an early release day on Tuesday with after-school and evening activities canceled, while all classes and activities at Salem State University were canceled.

City Hall meetings will be held in person, held virtually, or canceled at the discretion of the committee chairperson.

The Salem Public Library was set to close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Winter storm warnings were extended farther east in Massachusetts as a nor'easter arrived in the state, promising a hefty dose of snow for many areas.

The National Weather Service early Tuesday updated its snow predictions, moving higher snow totals into Essex County and the Boston area. Meanwhile, new winter storm warnings were set to go into effect at 10 a.m. encompassing all of Middlesex, Essex and Suffolk counties.

The storm was already beginning to take a toll on infrastructure as of sunrise. Some 70,000 residents were without power as of 10:30 a.m., mostly clustered in the Berkshires and Central Massachusetts. On the Mass Pike, 40 mph speed restrictions were in place between Westfield and the New York border.

The MBTA canceled all Charlestown and Hingham-Hull ferry service on Tuesday with very high winds expected along the coast.

Gov. Maura Healey on Monday evening ordered all non-emergency executive branch employees to stay home on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency was planning to open its emergency operations center in Framingham at 8 a.m. Tuesday to monitor conditions.

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