Officials say state is ready to handle a storm

With the first snowstorm of the year expected this weekend, Massachusetts officials are preparing snow plows, sanders, and other heavy equipment to keep roads clear and residents safe.

With predictions ranging from a mix of rain and snow along the coast to up to a foot in Central and Western Massachusetts, officials are gearing up for a widespread response.

“All the forecasts are indicating that this is going to be a pretty sizable storm, but it is still 48 hours away, and a lot of things can change,” state highway administrator Jonathan Gulliver said in a telephone interview Thursday evening. “It is safe to say that we are ready and have been for quite a while.”

MassDOT has its entire fleet — 3,000 pieces of equipment — on standby and will be monitoring weather forecasts for the next 24 hours while conducting final equipment checks and finetuning its deployment strategy.

Salt sheds across the state are full, and contracted snowplow drivers are also on standby as the storm, forecast to hit late Saturday into early Sunday, looms, Gulliver said.

Transportation officials will closely monitor the forecasts to “make sure that we are putting the right kind of equipment out at the right frequency and at the right time,” Gulliver said.

“This is the first sizable storm that we’ve had in quite some time,” Gulliver said.

He urged residents to “stay home and stay safe” and warned motorists to be mindful that “they have not driven in snow in a long time.”

“We have what we need, we’re not expecting any major problems,” Gulliver said. “Assuming the timing holds, everything should be ready for a pretty clean commute on Monday morning.”

Cities and towns west of Boston appear likely to have the highest snowfall totals. Officials in several cities, including Framingham, Marlborough,

Worcester, and Springfield, could not be reached for comment Thursday evening to discuss preparations.

The storm also comes as cities and towns face a short supply of snowplow drivers.

Worcester Public Works Commissioner Jay Fink told WCVB-TV the shortage could make it longer to plow city streets. Still, the city is loading up on de-icer, salt, and sand and expects to have about 400 pieces of equipment on hand, the station reported.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wu and other city officials are scheduled to brief the media on storm preparations Friday at 11:30 a.m. at the Boston Public Works Yard on Frontage Road, in front of the mammoth salt pile the city draws from to treat roads.

Slated to join Wu is Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Highway Division Superintendent Danny Nee, and Assistant Highway Division Superintendent

Clarence Perkins, according to the statement.

Late Thursday, the weather service via X updated the forecasted snow totals to note that some areas north and west of Interstate 95 could get hit with up to a foot of flakes.

“A winter storm watch is in effect from Saturday evening through Sunday night,” the weather service posted to X late Thursday afternoon. “Heavy snow accumulations of 8-12 inches is possible north and west of I-95. Areas east of I-95, snow totals are less certain and will depend on where the rain/ snow line sets up.”

The storm is part of a weather system that is crossing the Plains and is expected to extend as far as the southern Appalachians, where freezing rain is forecast, according to the Associated Press.