A historic blizzard is finally headed out to sea after dumping more than 30 inches of snow on some areas of Massachusetts, cutting power to hundreds of thousands, and battering coastal communities with big waves and howling wind. One person died in the storm, a boy who got into a running car at midday today in Boston to warm up after shoveling snow and succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Boston Fire Department said today that the 11-year-old boy was on Nazing Street, near Franklin Park, when he got into a small four-door sedan to get warm after shoveling the walkway and car at about 11:40 a.m. Rescuers took him to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
There were no other major injuries or deaths due to the storm, officials said.
Governor Deval Patrick lifted the travel ban at 4 p.m., 24 hours after he first imposed it.
He asked people to be patient with the pace of storm recovery efforts. “We have a lot of snow to dispose of and to remove. And it will take some time to do that. That is a prerequisite to ... getting power restored,” he said.
National Guard troops headed to coastal communities to assist in evacuations due to giant waves and storm surges that sent the ocean sweeping onto shoreside roads and homes.
The storm howled its way into the record books. The National Weather Service said 24.9 inches of snow fell at Logan International Airport, the fifth highest snowfall ever recorded.
For some, there was a bright side: An unfamiliar landscape of pristine snow with drifts sculpted by the wind. Some people cross-country skied and snowboarded on the iconic Boston Common.
And in Worcester, state officials said, a National Guard EMT and a a local EMT delivered a baby at 3 a.m. today, in the teeth of the storm.
NStar reported about 253,000 outages, while National Grid reported about 152,000, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said in a 1 p.m. update. State officials said crews were now out on the road, working to restore power.
Numerous towns in the state reported more than 20 inches of snow. Spencer held the record as of mid-morning, reporting 30.5 inches.
Patrick said the travel ban would be lifted immediately for communities west of Interstate 91 and on the island of Nantucket. The ban, which has not been used by a governor since the legendary Blizzard of ‘78, will expire statewide at 4 p.m.
“The overnight travel ban worked extremely well for us,” Schwartz said at an earlier news conference. “We’re very happy this morning that we’re not dealing with clogged arteries, clogged secondary roads, and we can focus where we need to focus.”
State transportation officials said more than 3,600 crews were working at 10 a.m. after a night of battling the snow.
Those hoping to use public transportation are out of luck. The MBTA will not be able to restore service today, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.
Transportation Secretary Richard A. Davey said at a news conference with the governor and other officials at the MEMA bunker that the MBTA would try to resume some service but was really aiming for Monday morning rush hour.
Weather forecasters said early this morning their sensors appeared to be malfunctioning, but they’re estimating winds gusting to 30 to 35 miles per hour across Western Massachusetts. Across Eastern Massachusetts those gusts are likely blowing to 50. And on the immediate coast, Cape and islands gusts are likely up to 65.
Weather service meteorologist Alan Dunham said Logan International Airport had recorded a peak hurricane-force gust of 76 miles per hour (hurricane winds are 74 or above) and there were multiple reports of gusts reaching 74 to 77 miles on Cape Cod.
Lighter snow is expected to persist into the afternoon.
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