A wave of Arctic cold is dominating Greater Boston today as the latest winter storm winds down in most of the state, but is expected to generate blizzard-like conditions on the South Shore and the Cape Cod and the Islands for most of the day.
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he was lifting Boston’s emergency parking ban at 8 a.m. after he stayed up much of the night monitoring the response to his first snowstorm.
“The streets are good,” Walsh said. “Down to the pavement.”
Six to seven inches of snow fell in Boston, Walsh said, and a few more were expected this morning. At the height of the storm, there 550 pieces of plow equipment on the street and the city used a quarter of its road salt supply. By 7 a.m., the number of plows and salt spreaders dropped to 300, Walsh said.
There were no major incidents or crimes overnight, Walsh said. Emergency Medical Services responded to one call for hypothermia and there were reports of five fires and seven or eight carbon monoxide scares.
Municipal leaders north and west of Boston were also ending snow emergencies this morning and the Massachusetts Turnpike resumed normal speed limits after several hours were speed was reduced to 40 mile an hour.
The MBTA was reporting a variety of periodic problems linked not to the snowfall,but the single digit temperatures in the region. For example, Transportation Secretary Richard Davey said that only three of the 10 trolley cars used on the Ashmont-Mattapan trolley line functioned this morning, forcing the use of buses.
And T officials said they are concerned the long wave of bitterly cold weather could impact the transportation network. “We do anticipate those temperatures will have an effect on service,’’ said MBTA spokesman Joseph Pesaturo said. “The Arctic conditions make it difficult to keep every bus, subway and train operating on its regular schedule.’’
He urged commuters to check the MBTA’s website for service updates.
Davey said Logan Airport is open, having received only about five inches of snow, but that there are some flight delays and cancellations due to weather-related conditions at other airports in the Northeast.
“The later in the day your flight is, the better chance you have for taking off on time,” Davey said. “People should be checking with their airlines’’ before heading to Logan, he said.
The storm has already brought double digit snowfalls to some South Shore towns—Weymouth reported receiving 15.5 inches—but has also largely spared communities west and north of Boston. The National Weather Service is projecting that commuters from those areas will have a relatively easy time of it this morning.
“If you are coming from the north and west of Boston, it’s really going to be a piece of cake. They did not get much snow,’’ said weather service meteorologist Alan Dunham. “But coming up from Cape Cod and Plymouth on Route 3…they got much more snow and it will continue to snow until early mid-afternoon.’’
A winter storm warning will remain in effect for greater Boston until 1 p.m. today.
And a blizzard warning is in effect for Plymouth County and the Cape and Islands until 1 p.m. today. Winds may gust up to 50 miles an hour and produce nearly a foot of snow, the weather service said.
Dunham, the meteorologist, said the bitterly cold weather will intensify.
“It’s cold out there and it’s going to get colder,’’ he said. Gusting winds will drive the wind child to below zero in Boston over the next several days.
Governor Deval Patrick postponed the annual State of the Commonwealth speech last night, but state executive offices are expected to operate on regular business hours today, according to state social media postings. A date for his speech has not yet been set.
However, the Massachusetts Trial Court said this morning that the courthouses in Barnstable, Bristol, Plymouth, Dukes and Nantucket counties are closed today. Also, Norfolk County courthouses will have a 10 a.m. delayed opening. First day jury service is cancelled for all of the state, except Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin counties.
Davey said the highways north and west of Boston are in good shape, but that the continuing snowfall in southeastern Massachusetts and the Cape is proving more challenging. He said there has not been any major storm-related transportation issues.
“So far, so good,’’ he said.
Walsh said he got home to Savin Hill at about 10 p.m. Tuesday night and shoveled his own walk and driveway.
“The good thing about this storm is the snow is light,” he said.
He monitored the storm on Twitter until 1:30 a.m. He was up at 5 a.m. for a conference call with his snow team and then made a round of calls to television and radio stations.Continued…