UPDATED: 6pm: The MBTA has canceled all rail service – trolleys, rapid transit, and commuter rail – starting at 7pm Monday and throughout Tuesday.

Hours before, Governor Charlie Baker expressed his “disappointment” with the T, calling its performance "unacceptable".

At a 5:30 pm news conference, Baker said that he was declaring a state of emergency, an administrative action that would allow Massachusetts to activate mutual assistance pacts with neighboring starts and seek federal assistance.  

UPDATED 2 pm: Just when you thought the weather couldn't get any worse, it does.

A gale warning is in effect for much of coastal New England until 7 AM Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

From southern Rhode Island to just south of Portland, Maine, forecasts call for up to two more feet of snow to fall over the next two days.

The maximum impact is enveloping Greater Boston.

The storm is expected to taper off after midnight, and is expected to end between 3 am and 5 am  Tuesday. 

That Cape Cod and the islands appear to be escaping not snow, but extra punishing conditions is the only glimmer of good news.

Boston Schools are closed Monday and Tuesday. By the time this storm is over, schools will have registered seven snow days, prompting concerns about how the time will be made up. Among the options: keeping school open on Patriots day, or using the April vacation time as make up. No plans are yet made.

Boston, Cambridge, Medford, and Somerville are among the communities that have declared snow emergencies, which restrict parking.

Governor Charlie Baker stopped short of declaring a travel ban, but urged motorists to stay off the roads, urging employers to allow personnel who can to work from home to do so.

State offices are closed.

The MBTA will be operating, but at a reduced scheduled, Baker said.  Those with a mordant sense of humor might say that given the T’s service problems it might be a distinction without a difference.

For the second time in two weeks, the MBTA has had to rescue commuters on a Red Line train that was brought to a halt in Quincy due to ice on the third rail.

Baker was explicitly critical of the MBTA, saying he was "disappointed" with its performance.

A spokesman for the transit authority responded: "Confronted with extraordinarily difficult weather conditions, the MBTA will continue to do everything possible to keep our aging trains moving. " 

Busses -- generally -- are having an easier time of it, benefiting from the lack of other traffic.

State and federal officials are warning of heavy loads straining roofs, especially of low-slung commercial buildings with flat roofs. At least three have collapsed around the state.

Accumulations of up to 70 inches or more have hit many communities around Boston.

Boston has been especially pole axed. Mayor Marty Walsh said that the $18 million municipal budget for snow removal has been spent.

Density and old neighborhoods, which in more temperate months combine to make Boston a livable mesh of neighborhoods; in this foul weather, conspire to render transportation on foot, by car, or via mass transit a chore. 

Only Buffalo, N.Y. and communities in Alaska have had to cope with Boston’s recent snow travails, said Walsh at a Sunday press conference.

Walsh, no doubt, is trying to educate the public, to establish a context in which to view this historic couple of weeks of snowfall.

That’s a smart move, for griping in Boston is more than a civic right – it’s an art form.

According to Boston’s official web site, the city has accumulated 62.5 inches of snow, plowed the equivalent of 200,950 miles of roads, using 57,400 tons of salt. As of Monday morning this has required 110,263 hours of labor.

Both Walsh and Baker say this winter's snow is "unprecedented".

Those who think that Mother Nature is a Seattle Seahawks fan may be on to something. There are hints from some forecasters that even more snow may be on the way Friday.