BOSTON — Boston is about to set the record for the snowiest month ever recorded since records started being kept in 1891 — and February is only half over. After two of the city’s biggest snowstorms ever in the past three weeks, another blizzard is forecast for this weekend.
If Boston gets more than 10 inches, as predicted, it will have seen more snow in the past three weeks than Chicago has ever had in an entire winter.
Ahead of the storm, snow removal continues in and around Boston. Empty parking lots have become “snow farms.” Workers are shoveling off school roofs to avoid more collapses. They simply don’t know where to put any more snow — but it’s coming.
The area is getting help from surrounding states that have loaned out more than 150 pieces of heavy equipment, including giant snow-melters, to help clear snow-clogged streets.
Gov. Charlie Baker warned people to stay home Sunday to avoid blowing snow and plows.
“Folks should be finishing up their preparations tonight in anticipation that tomorrow they will stay off roads,” Baker said Saturday.
Lt. Col. Shawn Cody oversees more than 300 National Guardsmen on the ground in Massachusetts. He says they’ve accomplished a lot in the past 24 hours.
“We have over 700 soldiers out. We do shovel teams, we’ve cleared 70 miles of roadway,” Cody said.
For the last few days, Cody and about 50 other men and women have been digging out the city of Quincy with the same equipment from combat.
“The soldiers are doing what they signed up for,” Cody said. “They are helping their fellow citizens.”
The state’s Department of Environmental Protection said at least 14 coastal communities have requested permission to dump snow into waterways. The concern is the contaminated snow could pollute the water. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he’ll only use Boston Harbor as a last resort.
As people here get ready for another round of snow, Ari Levitt said without the help of the National Guard, his neighborhood would be trapped.
“My back hurts, my neighbor’s back hurts, everybody’s back hurts because it’s non-stop shoveling,” Levitt said. “I’m a lot more confident now that the Guard has cleared things. It’s about as good as it is going to be.”
Baker said he will seek federal aid for Massachusetts. The state’s snow removal budget is $100 million. Officials from the governor’s office are still trying to figure out how much has already been spent.