As the New Year’s nor’easter draws to a close, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency in Framingham is still monitoring flooding in coastal communities on the South Shore and Cape Cod, as temperatures continue to drop. Gov. Deval Patrick gave a final briefing at 2 Friday afternoon.
Above ground, it sounds like the scraping of a plow. But underground, it’s more like an office.
It’s been a long couple of days in MEMA’s underground command center, below the state police barracks in Framingham. As is protocol, dozens of officials from agencies such as the Red Cross and National Guard monitored the weather and coastline conditions on large screens. The combination of high wind, subzero temperatures and hours of heavy snowfall is both good and bad, according to MEMA spokesman Peter Judge.
“This light and fluffy snow is in direct response to the cold temperatures," Judge said. "And because of that we have seen minimal if any power losses anywhere in the Commonwealth.”
The snow didn’t sit on power lines, and there were fewer than 100 outages. But the cold is bad news for transportation. It slows down MBTA trains and subway cars, and reduces the effectiveness of chemicals used to treat roads and highways. That means snow can still pack after it’s been plowed. Patrick is still cautioning residents.
“Remember the precautions," he said. "Stay indoors if you can. If you are out, dress in multiple layers. Do not expose more of your skin to the extreme cold than is necessary and do not stay out very long.”
After putting more than 3,400 crew members on the road at the peak of the storm, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation still has more than 1,000 people plowing. But most emergency focus is on the South Shore, where more than 300 National Guard men and women are assisting with what are now just voluntary evacuations in Scituate and Duxbury.
