Mayor Michelle Wu Friday declared Boston's first snow emergency of the year as the New England region braced for a major weekend winter storm. Snow accumulation forecasts range between 18 and 24 inches in Boston, which is predicted to be in the heart of the storm.
Wu said the city has activated an emergency operations center for coordinating public safety response. She urged residents to minimize travel over the weekend, or utilize public transit in cases where travel is unavoidable.
"This is likely to be an intense, dangerous storm with heavy snow, high winds and whiteout conditions," Wu said when announcing the snow emergency from City Hall.
"This blizzard will make road conditions very dangerous during the storm for parking and for driving, so the safest place to be is in your home or in your apartment. If you must travel, please bundle up and dress warmly, and take the T if at all possible."
Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge emphasized that snow removal will be ongoing throughout the weekend to clean up as high winds and snowfall continue over an extended period.
"This has the potential to be one for the record books and we should not expect to [have] everything back to normal the minute the snow stops falling," he said.
With some forecasts predicting snow fall rates of 2-4 inches an hour, or more, Franklin-Hodge said, the city does not expect to maintain bare pavement on the roads during the peak intensity.
"We are preparing for the highest level of response and are confident that our public works department is ready to meet the moment," he said, pointing to the city's 38,000 tons of salt and capacity to deploy as many as 800 pieces of snow removal equipment.
Wu said Boston's emergency shelters for people experiencing homelessness will remain open through the weekend.
The snow emergency declaration means parking is banned on major arteries, so plows can push snow as close to curbs as possible. The ban will go into effect at 9 p.m. After that time, vehicles parked on streets marked with snow emergency restrictions will be towed.
The emergency designation also means space savers will be permitted in parking spaces for those seeking to preserve shoveled spots. The allowance will last for 48 hours once the mayor declares the end of the snow emergency.
Wu said the snow is expected to end in time for Boston Public Schools to start as normal Monday.
"I am very relieved that this is happening on a Saturday," she said. "It means that our school kids and teachers and many of the workers around the city who are able to be at home on weekend will hopefully be home and be able to stay inside."
