Mountains of snow, more to come in East
BOSTON – The third major winter storm in less than two weeks inflicted fresh snow – and misery – across New England and portions of New York state on Monday. Boston, which broke records set during the epic Blizzard of ’78, grappled with a conundrum: Where to put it all?
Doug Buckley, a truck driver delivering food to restaurants in Boston, captured the city’s winter weariness: “I want to take a plane to Florida.”
Here’s how the latest snowstorm is ravaging the region again:
BESIEGED UNTIL EARLY TODAY
The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for central New York, the western Catskills and much of New England through early today.
Some areas of Massachusetts had about a foot of snow before dawn, and the storm was expected to last all day Monday. The weather service reported an unofficial measurement of more than 21 inches in Norwell, while other communities south of Boston got 18 inches or more. Logan Airport in Boston had a foot, and the city was forecast to get as much as 2 feet.
“You can’t change it. The snow is there,” said Helen Ferullo, a Weymouth social worker resigned to the onslaught. “You can’t do anything about it.”
In New York, the snow stretched from Buffalo to the Hudson Valley, one day after 6 inches of snow fell on parts of the region. Much of Connecticut braced for 6 to 12 inches.
‘UNPRECEDENTED’
In Massachusetts alone since last month’s blizzard struck, state workers have removed enough snow to fill Gillette Stadium 90 times over, Gov. Charlie Baker told reporters Monday morning, calling the situation “pretty much unprecedented.”
Boston set a record for the most snow recorded in a 30-day period, with 61.6 inches by 7 a.m. Monday, breaking the record of 58.8 inches set in February 1978.
Bangor, Maine, tied its own 30-day snowfall record with 53 inches, which hasn’t been seen in such a short period since 1969, the National Weather Service said.
MORE TRANSIT HEADACHES
Amtrak canceled portions of its passenger train service in upstate New York because of the storm. Boston’s Logan International Airport was allowing only a limited amount of flights to arrive and depart Monday. Travelers were urged to check with their airlines. Dozens of flights in and out of Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport were canceled, as well as flights at Maine’s Portland International Jetport and Bangor International Airport.
WHERE TO PUT IT ALL?
In many New England communities, the obvious problem is where to put the new snow.
State snow disposal guidelines require that communities use locations that won’t harm environmental resources and have barriers that prevent contaminants from seeping into groundwater when the snow melts. In Massachusetts, officials were using giant melters to liquefy the latest snow.