Weekend Storm Alert Upgraded to Blizzard Watch
The National Weather Service’s winter storm alert issued earlier today has been replaced with a “Blizzard Watch,” in effect starting Friday morning.
“A potential historic winter storm and blizzard is expected to drop one to two feet of snow across much of the region Friday into Saturday,” the National Weather Service alert states.
The watch affects much of eastern Massachusetts, including the Boston area, as well as northern and central Rhode Island, and runs Friday morning into Saturday afternoon. Temperatures will be in the mid 20s.
The National Weather Service is forecasting “heavy snow with the potential for blizzard conditions and accumulations of 12 to 24 inches.” Light snow is expected to develop by Friday morning, increasing in intensity during the afternoon. The heaviest snowfall will occur Friday night into Saturday morning, when snowfall rates that could reach 2-3 inches per hour.
“Heavy snow and strong winds will bring the potential for blizzard conditions,” the National Weather Service reports. “Travel may become nearly impossible with blowing and drifting snow.”
Boston Remembers the Blizzard of 1978
The snowfall in Boston so far this winter has been minimal, but 35 years ago it was a much different story.
On Feb. 6, 1978, the Boston area, along with much of Massachusetts, saw a record 27 inches of snow fall, with the added bonus of hurricane force winds. The storm began the morning of Feb. 6 and lasted through the following evening. It was a storm that was never really predicted to be so large, and yet from it one good thing came—we learned about emergency preparedness.
The snow came down so quickly (at a rate of one inch an hour) that thousands of motorists were stranded in snowdrifts as they drove down Route 128. Roads throughout the state were impassible and cars were abandoned at every turn.
For those of us who were old enough to remember, the memories differ. The motorist stuck in his car for hours on the highway, the family wondering where that person was, to a community paralyzed by Mother Nature in a storm no one ever expected.