BOSTON (AP) — With the official start of spring weeks away, a winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of the northeastern U.S. overnight Monday, prompting school closures, power outages and a messy morning commute.
Temperatures were then expected to plunge into the teens overnight and linger there for the most of the week, raising the risk of dangerously icy conditions, officials and meteorologists warned.
"Well, we finally got a good one. We've been waiting a whole winter and it finally came," said Michael Raab as he used a snow blower to clear his driveway in the Boston suburb of Arlington, Massachusetts, on Monday. "The kids were happy there is a snow day. I hope we won't have too many more of these since we're looking forward to the spring."
The greater Boston area was hit with more than a foot of snow overnight — several inches more than was originally predicted. Snow fell at a rate of up to 2 inches per hour, according to the National Weather Service, and stopped falling around 10 a.m. A snow emergency was in effect until 10 a.m. Most schools in the area were closed Monday.
Boston City Hall remained closed for non-essential employees Monday, and Gov. Charlie Baker issued a delayed start time for non-essential executive branch employees.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported that more than 13,000 homes and businesses were without power Monday morning. Bus routes and commuter rail lines also saw delays.
Because there was no declared snow emergency in Boston, the Walsh administration reminded residents that space savers were not allowed. Any chairs, boxes, or other space-saving objects will be picked up during neighborhood trash runs, Walsh told WBZ-TV.
More than a few Boston residents opted to ignore the memo.
“Well, that's good for Mayor Walsh. We'll see if he will do it or not,” Southie resident Matt Neville told WGBH News on Monday afternoon. Neville said he doubted all would follow the administration’s dictum. “I have a feeling they'll make their own rules. We'll see.”
Neville said he worked hard shoveling wet snow and will probably be putting a folding chair in his space when he pulls his car out in the morning.
Tina Thomas agreed with Neville.
“Give Southie a pass. Let us have our space savers,” Thomas, also of Southie, said. “I don't even have a car, but I don't mind the space savers if they need them.”
But Mark Smith of Dorchester, who said he spent two hours digging his car out of the snow, said he’s no fan of space savers.
“I think people should be shoveling for the greater good of the community rather than for themselves,” Smith said, adding, “But, hey, what do I know?”
In New England, the snowy weather isn't completely done: more could be on the way Friday or Saturday. That storm is still too early to predict, but it shouldn't be as significant, said Bryce Williams, a Boston-area meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
Monday's storm, which started Sunday night but hit the hardest in the early morning hours, was the largest storm parts of New England have seen in a relatively quiet winter.
"It just takes one storm and we're up back close to where we typically are this time of year," said Williams. "We caught up quite a bit with this one system."
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh told WGBH News there were about 600 plow crews treating the roads with 26,000 tons of salt in Boston on Monday morning. He urged Boston residents to be considerate when shoveling.
"We're asking people to, as you're shoveling and cleaning, don't be throwing snow in the street," Walsh said. "Check on your elderly neighbors, if you have disabled elderly neighbors, to make sure that they are okay. And also fire hydrants or crosswalks, clean them if you can."
WGBH News' Mark Herz contributed to this article.
