Another blast of snow makes its way into Northeast
BOSTON — Another round of snow made its way into the Northeast on Saturday as the region continues to dig out from the previous storm.
New England is expected to be hit hardest by the latest blast of winter weather. The National Weather Service says 10 to 14 inches of snow is expected in eastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. Connecticut could see 8 to 10 inches along its Rhode Island border.
At its peak, the storm will dump snow at the rate of 3 inches per hour, said meteorologist William Babcock.
The weekend snowstorm comes on the heels of another storm that brought snow and ice to the East Coast, caused at least 25 deaths and left hundreds of thousands without power. Parts of New York and Vermont ended up with more than 2 feet of snow.
On Saturday, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick urged drivers to stay off the roads for a 12- hour period beginning at 5 p. m., saying, “It won’t be possible to keep up with the clearing of the roads.”
The newest storm was expected to spawn blizzard conditions in several places along the Massachusetts coastline, including Cape Ann, Hingham, Cape Cod and surrounding islands.
“These areas could be seeing winds reaching up to 70 mph, blowing snow and creating extremely poor visibility,” Babcock said. “People should be preparing for deteriorating conditions.”
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced that the city would deploy more than 600 snow plows, trucks and other equipment by Saturday evening to deal with the storm. He said additional police officers, firefighters and paramedics would be on hand throughout the storm to ensure public safety.
Elsewhere, in Maine, forecasts called for 12 to 18 inches of snow in some areas beginning Saturday night. The weather service warned that heavy snow and strong winds could create hazardous driving conditions.
Southeastern New Hampshire is under a winter storm warning through Sunday that could bring 6 to 10 inches of snow. The weather service said 1 to 2 inches of snow was possible on Saturday with as much as 8 inches overnight.
Farther south, New York City could see 2 to 4 inches. The city got nearly a foot of snow Thursday.
In eastern Pennsylvania, forecasters predicted 2 to 5 inches before evening. In Lancaster, the station WGAL- TV remained unable to broadcast after a portion of its station roof collapsed Friday.