Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/snow/)
Charlie BreitroseA person bundles up against the winds during the blizzard on Jan. 29, 2022. Not much snow had piled up as of 10 a.m.
Two feet or more of snow is expected to fall on Watertown on Jan. 29. Share your photos taken from the warmth of your home, or from the chilly outdoors if you are more adventurous.
The early morning sun shines on the snow left from Sunday’s snow storm. The Town of Watertown lifted its Snow Emergency parking ban at 8 a.m. on Feb. 8. More snow is expected Tuesday. Sunday’s storm dropped about 5 inches on the area.
A storm that will stretch from Sunday into Tuesday could drop as much as six inches of snow on the Watertown area, and make travel tough for people returning from Thanksgiving trips. At the same time, the winter parking ban begins in Watertown. A Winter Storm Watch has been issued by the National Weather Service from 11 a.m. on Sunday to 7 a.m. on Tuesday. Watertown is in the area forecast by WCVB Channel 5 to get 3-6 inches of snow, but areas of northern Massachusetts and New Hampshire could get more than a foot. The Cape, on the other hand, will get an inch or less.
With a storm that lasted most of Thursday, and dropped North of a foot of snow, Watertown’s Department of Public Works crews have been busy the last couple days.
Snow totals in the area show that more than a foot of snow fell in Watertown. The National Weather Service reports that West Newton got 15 inches and it measured 13 inches in Arlington. The storm was a tough one to handle, said DPW Superintendent Gerry Mee. “It was not the biggest accumulation but because of the cold temperatures and intensity of the storm it was very difficult,” Mee said. The snow emergency and all-day parking ban will remain in place for now because roads have been narrowed by the snow, Mee said.
The snowstorm rolling through the area Thursday will be heavier than first thought, according to forecasters. The National Weather Service forecast calls for 8-12 inches of snow, with areas as much as 14 inches, during the storm that will start at in the early hours of Thursday and continue for 24 hours. On Tuesday, the forecast was for 5-7 inches. The snow map produced by WCVB Channel 5, Watertown is in the area forecast to get 10-15 inches of snow. Blizzard conditions are possible during the storm.
(Read the latest update on Thursday’s storm here. The expected snow totals have been increased). A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for Eastern Massachusetts on Thursday, and the storm could drop half a foot or more of snow on Watertown. The Nor’easter is forecast to hit the area beginning the around 1 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4, and continue through the day.
A snow storm will be coming through the Watertown area Friday afternoon through early Saturday. Meanwhile, more precipitation is expected on Christmas, but it is not clear whether it will be snow, rain or a mix. The National Weather Service forecasts up to 3 inches of rain in the area on Friday, turning to freezing rain on Saturday. The snow will begin after 1 p.m. Friday. Ice is possible in the area and likely North and West of I-495 as well as near Worcester and west.
The MBTA may change to bus routes in Watertown, adding new routes and improving all routes by making changes to fare collection, but all these moves will take some time. Wednesday night representatives from the MBTA and other transportation officials spoke to the Town Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Transportation. They also went into some options that had not previously been discussed in Watertown. The focus of the meeting was on the 70/70A bus, which runs through Watertown on Main Street and Arsenal Street and goes from Waltham to Cambridge. The route is one of the longest in the MBTA system, said Melissa Dullea, director of Planning and Schedules for the MTBA.