Heavy snowstorm misses Boston but hits Connecticut and Rhode Island instead

Photo courtesy of MGN

By Matt Kugel

This Tuesday, the prospective snowstorm that shut down schools across Boston and hit cities throughout the northeast is subsiding as the sun sets.

Original reports projected that most of Massachusetts would receive 6 to 12 inches of snow. The nor’easter shifted course, however, and left most of the state with minimal snowfall. Boston, in particular was working hard to prepare for the storm, with NBC10 Boston reporting that the city declared a snow emergency, shut down many of its public buildings for the day, and set up several feet of storm barriers at the Aquarium T stop.

Massachusetts Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver told the station that to keep streets clear, “We have about 1,500 pieces of equipment out in the roadways,” adding that the same amount of pieces were in reserve, ready to be added to the fleet at a moment’s notice.

But they weren’t necessary this time around. According to another update from NBC10 Boston, Although the storm was strong enough to be approaching against steering currents in its early stages, it lost strength as it traveled. This is why it changed course so unexpectedly, as those steering currents that were too weak to direct the snowfall at first won out in the end, quickly redirecting the storm.

While the storm missed areas of Massachusetts originally slated to be hit hard, its change of course meant more coverage than expected in other areas of the northeast. WCVB 5 reported that most of the snowfall was in Connecticut and its surrounding area, also affecting towns across Rhode Island all the way into southern Massachusetts. It was heaviest in Farmington, Conn., which received 15.5” of snow.

Although Boston saw less snow than expected, the tide is high and there are still coastal flood advisories in effect until 4 a.m. Wednesday all across eastern Massachusetts. This means that despite the storm’s passing, there may be a few ice patches throughout the city come Wednesday morning.