Travel Ban Lifted in Western Mass. Counties as Snow Piles Up in East
The travel ban in four western Massachusetts counties has been lifted, Governor Charlie Baker said Tuesday just after noon, but the ban remains in place in central and eastern parts of the state.
“This is clearly a very big storm for most of Massachusetts,’’ Baker said.
Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties are no longer under the travel ban. I-90 remains closed across all of Massachusetts, however.
Officials said they expect costs from snow cleanup to be similar to that of the storm of 2013, during which MassDOT spent $20 million.
The blizzard dropped lighter, fluffier snow than anticipated, Baker said earlier Tuesday, causing him to downgrade earlier predictions on the expected damage from the storm. Wetter, heavier snow is the type that knocks down power lines, officials said.
“Overall it’s been a pretty quiet night,’’ he said. “So far so good.’’
The lighter snow is a product of the colder temperature overall, Baker said.
Boston received 20.8 inches of snow as Tuesday just after noon. Earlier in the day, Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement that the city was monitoring the situation.
“We saw no major incidents overnight,’’ Walsh said.
Still, precipitation reached between six and 12 inches overnight for most parts of Massachusetts, and snow continued to fall through the day. Baker said the expected snowfall totals of 24 to 30 inches in eastern Massachusetts were about correct.
Worcester, Middlesex, and southern Bristol County saw the highest snowfall totals. Framingham had 30 inches of snow and Worcester saw 25 inches as of about 10 a.m.
There were limited evacuations due to coastal flooding in the South Shore, Baker said. He advised those in coastal regions who left to stay away until after the next high tide cycle at 4 p.m.
Nantucket suffered from a number of power outages overnight. In addition, two supply lines at the Pilgrim Nuclear Station in Plymouth went down, but officials said there was no public safety hazard.
“People should spend the morning cleaning out, digging out’’ sidewalks and fire hydrants, Baker said. “Deal with that stuff, and eventually the snow is gonna stop and things will get back to normal.’’
The MBTA remains closed Tuesday. The city reported that 131 vehicles had been towed as of 3:30 a.m. for not following the parking ban.
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