With a blizzard of epic proportions forecast, Gov. Deval Patrick today said the MBTA will shut down tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. and all cars should be off the roads by noon.
“Accumulation is expected to be swift, heavy and dangerous,” Patrick said, flanked by an army of Cabinet and public safety officals. “The rate of snowfall and the reduced visibility during evening rush hour will make safe travel nearly impossible.”
Patrick urged all school districts to cancel classes for tomorrow and ordered all non-emergency state workers to stay home. The heaviest bands will hit between 2 and 5 p.m., with heavily populated areas potentially hit with as much as 2.5 feet of snow.
“I’m worried about people being safe,” the governor added.
New England is in the sights of two massive storms forecast to collide tomorrow, bringing “a potentially historic” blizzard with up to 2 feet of snow, hurricane-force winds and drifts up to 5 feet in Greater Boston, according to the latest grim forecasts from the National Weather Service.
Late this afternoon, the weather service issued a blizzard warning for Eastern Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, saying whiteout conditions are anticipated by the Friday evening commute. Hurricane-force winds, with gusts up to 80 mph, are expected along the coast, while 50 mph gusts are anticipated within the Route 95 corridor, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said, predicting widespread power outages.
“We’re expecting the snow to begin tomorrow morning, say 7 a.m.,” NWS meteorologist Kim Buttrick said. “It will be light in the morning. What we’re telling people is, if you can, try and have your errands and any other preparations done by noon. Best to just stay put and hunker down until the storm is over. The blizzard conditions are really expected to come Friday evening into the overnight.”
The NWS has not ruled out the potential for thunder, as well, as the snow comes down at 2 to 3 inches an hour with a cold front nipping at its heels.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced today classes at all Boston Public Schools have been canceled for tomorrow. Many other area schools including Somerville, Revere and Stoughton also have already canceled school. Later this afternoon, Gov. Deval Patrick, Secretary of Transportation Richard Davey and Highway Administrator Frank DePaola will brief the public on what they’re doing to stay on top of the weather and facilitate travel.
DePaola said this morning his crews have 4,500 pieces of state-owned and hired snow-removal equipment ready to roll and the salt and sand reserves are filled to capacity.
“We’re confident we have enough to deal with this storm,” DePaola said. “We’ve actually had over 24 hours notice. We’ve already started preparing as best we can. We’re reviewing our procedures, making sure we concentrate on the major routes. They’re probably going to activate the National Guard tomorrow to provide even more resources for the state.
“We’ve actually had 12 snow and ice events (this winter), but we haven’t had any big events in the last week, so we are well rested,” he said.
The blockbuster blizzard won’t just be scary and inconvenient, it threatens to be costly.
“Based on past winters, it costs $1.2 million for every inch of snow (removal),” DePaola said. “I am sure this will be a several-million-dollar event, if not in excess of $10 million.”
With seas potentially reaching 35 feet, Buttrick said, moderate to major flooding can be expected on east-facing shorelines, bringing severe beach erosion and the potential for structural damage. Among the most vulnerable areas will be storm-battered Plum Island, where local officials have already been scrambling to save several homes compromised by the vanishing beach.
“A number of shore routes could be impassable Friday evening,” she said.
Newbury Town Administrator Tracy Blais said, “We’re definitely concerned. Right now we’ve got eight privately owned homes in jeopardy.”
NSTAR spokesman Michael Durand said the greatest outage impacts are expected on the South Shore, south coast and Cape Cod.
“We have (several hundred) private line crews coming from Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Illinois, Maine and Pennsylvania,” Durand said. “We’re pre-staging those crews with materials — poles, transformers — to avoid having to move them around during whiteout conditions.”
In addition, Durand said NSTAR is opening up emergency operation centers across its service area for quick dispatching of help to customers where needed.
National Grid is warning customers it, too, “is preparing for widespread, prolonged power outages,” as a result of the storm’s wrath.