Friday, February 8, 2013
Bookmark this page for local updates as we make our way through the storm.
Editor's note: Grafton-centric updates on the blizzard (cancellations, emergency notices) will be posted here. Update, 1 p.m., Feb. 9: The travel ban for non-emergency residents will be lifted at 4 p.m. Saturday. Update, noon, Feb. 9: The National Weather Service listed 18 inches as its unofficial snowfall total for Grafton as of this morning. But as our readers are showing us in their photos: it looks like it's more! Update, Saturday, Feb. 9: MBTA Service remains suspended on all routes today. Update, 2 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 9: The unofficial snow total for North Grafton was 14 inches, according to information recorded with the National Weather Service. Update, 3:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 8: Plow crews were out in full force after 2 p.m. Road …
Let's measure the blizzard through lawn ornaments!
We at Patch like to have fun – even when we’re covering a story as big as the Blizzard of ’13! So when the biggest storm in years (potentially in the history of Boston weather) is headed our way, we get into battle mode – and even get a little silly. That’s what this idea is about – and we want you to take part too! A fun way we want to track the storm across Massachusetts is through lawn ornaments. They serve a purpose in the spring and summer, but often feel left out in the cold of winter. Not anymore. We are posting photos of lawn ornaments throughout Massachusetts to highlight snowfall across the commonwealth during and after the storm. All you need to do is hit the Upload Photos and Videos button and upload your own. If we’re stuck at…
A blizzard warning is in effect until 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9.
OK, so that two feet of snow we were preparing to get last night? Better add another foot to that. The National Weather Service on Friday morning adjusted its predicted snowfall totals to three feet. The timing of the snowfall is roughly the same: with light snow falling in Worcester, Middlesex and Norfolk counties Friday morning, and becoming heavy later in the afternoon and into the Friday evening commute. So, as WHDH meteorologist Jeremy Reiner notes in his blog, you have a "few hours left this morning" to run some errands, but travel will deteriorate this afternoon. By 7 tonight, most towns will have 2 to 4 inches, Reiner predicted. The storm should be the worst from 7 p.m. Friday to noon tomorrow, when snow could fall at a rate of 2 …
Check here for updates from Patch, public safety personnel and residents as Massachusetts rides out the Blizzard of 2013.
New England may be in shutdown mode as a giant blizzard barrels through the area, but the conversation is alive and well on Twitter and the rest of the Web. Follow our live chat from Friday morning through the duration of the storm for updates in your neighborhood and around the rest of the state. Patch editors will provide continuous updates, and Twitter feeds from public officials, safety personnel and residents will let you know what's happening outside your window. If you'd like to ask a question during the chat, simply add it in the comment section above. We can't get to every question but will try our best to provide as much information as we can.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Grafton, along with the rest of the state, is predicted to get slammed on Friday.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Get your milk and bread, bring the firewood inside and get some batteries in the flashlights. This may be a humdinger!
Jim Arnold, weather specialist with Shrewsbury Emergency Management, doesn't think he's used the words "fasten your seatbelts" in a weather update more than four times in the past 25 years. On Wednesday, he did. "I think we will see blizzard conditions developing by late Friday afternoon," said Arnold. "Snow will begin around or just before dawn and should be fairly light until mid morning when it will become heavier and the wind will begin to increase. Heavy blowing and drifting snow should be our lot during the afternoon possibly reaching blizzard and occasional whiteout conditions in the late afternoon, and continuing throughout the night and into early Saturday morning." There is also the chance of seeing “thundersnow”, from embedded …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
The storm could be the "biggest of the season," and falls on the anniversary of one of the biggest blizzards ever.
The National Weather Service reports that there is a "chance of snow" every day from Wednesday, Feb. 5, through Friday, Feb. 7 in the area. According to Jim Arnold, weather specialist with the Shrewsbury Management Agency, the brunt of the storm would likely hit the area on Thursday and Friday. "Right now I see little chance of any freezing rain, sleet or ice with this storm," said Arnold, "as the pattern setting up is a cold one and favorable for all snow across inland southern New England. In addition, the model guidance is now coming around to the idea of a significant snowstorm for most of the northeast United States." In addition to the likely snow on Thursday and Friday, an intensifying coastal system will add wind to cause "…
Danielle Horn
8:47 am on Saturday, February 9, 2013
A reminder from one of our readers: make sure your furnace exhaust vents aren't snow-covered! A blockage could be dangerous. more ›