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More snow, high winds forecast for U.S. northeast coast

February 13, 2015   by Bob Salsberg - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


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BOSTON – Exasperated New Englanders still digging out from three major storms that left 6 feet or more of snow in many areas are bracing for what’s expected to be another punishing blast of winter this weekend.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for all of eastern Massachusetts and coastal areas of Maine and New Hampshire ahead of a storm expected to intensify Saturday night and last into Sunday, bringing bone-chilling cold behind it.

The Massachusetts Army National Guard helps remove snow

Wind gusts could howl at 70 miles per hour (112 km/h) and north-facing coastal areas could suffer moderate flooding and beach erosion from the “monster storm,” said Bill Simpson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts.

“Snow amounts will not be as much as the previous big storms, but still, when you have 8 to 14 inches of snow, wind driven-snow, the cold air and the snow that is already there it’s probably going to be very difficult for a lot of people,” he said.

If there was a silver lining, Simpson said, the track of the storm was likely to stay far enough off shore to avoid crippling impacts and reduce the amount of snowfall inland. It will also hit over a holiday weekend, which could minimize travel effects, though it could disrupt some Valentine’s Day plans.

The northern New England coast could see greater snowfall totals – with up to two feet in Down East Maine. Officials warned that hurricane-force wind gusts could lead to power outages.

The Coast Guard had an airplane flying in the Gulf of Maine broadcasting a warning to mariners about the impending storm, said Lt. Scott McCann.

The forecast added to the urgency Friday of crews working to remove massive snow piles that have clogged streets and triggered numerous roof collapses.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker called up hundreds of National Guard troops to assist with snow removal, and the Hanscom Air Force base outside Boston became a staging area for heavy equipment pouring in from other states to help in the effort.

The Massachusetts Army National Guard helps remove snow

Patricia Vinchesi, town administrator in Scituate, said a state of emergency would go into effect at midnight in the coastal community were portions of the seawall were breached during a late January storm.

“We’ve sort of been in reaction and recovery mode and before we can get any appreciable degree of recovery we are in reaction mode again,” Vinchesi said of the coming storm.

The National Guard helped dig out 700 fire hydrants in recent days and workers from the New York Department of Transportation were lending a hand to the snow removal effort on Friday, she said. The state gave Scituate permission to dump snow into the ocean because there was nowhere else to put it.

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said two machines capable of melting 135 tons of snow per hour arrived from New York City on Thursday, along with backhoes, dump trucks and front-end loaders from neighbouring states.

The spate of storms have caused major disruptions for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, as snow and freezing temperatures overwhelmed aging equipment on the nation’s oldest public transit system.

The Boston-area public transit system has struggled to maintain operations during the recent storms and said Friday that it will shut down all service on Sunday.

Walsh on Thursday suggested the MBTA shut down for the weekend but reversed course on Friday and said closing the system would “pose an incredible hardship to workers and people living throughout Boston.”

If the snow wasn’t enough, New Englanders also had bitter cold to look forward to in the coming days, with lows of minus 10 degrees forecast in some parts of the region Sunday night.

Snow-weary customers at a Home Depot store in Watertown, Massachusetts, spent Friday loading up on shovels and rock salt in anticipation of the latest storm.

“I can’t take it anymore. I’m beat, I’m tired, I’m ready to go back to Brazil,” said Armando Pinhero, who has lived in New England for 28 years but had never experienced a winter this severe.

School superintendents in Massachusetts and Maine were spared the decision of whether to order more snow days, as school vacation was already scheduled for next week. Some families planning getaways to warmer destinations moved up their flights from Boston’s Logan International Airport Friday to avoid being grounded by the approaching storm.

PHOTOS:

Private First Class Charles Roaf and Sergeant Miguel Familla of the Massachusetts National Guard help remove snow. Photo by Sergeant Michael Broughey, 65th Public Affairs Operations Center.

Soldiers with the Massachusetts National Guard arrive to assist South Shore communities with snow removal. Photo by Sergeant 1st Class (Ret.) Steve Tedeschi.

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