Massachusetts is bracing for a storm that could drop up to a foot of snow in much of the state.
Friday's storm will start overnight and heavy snow will continue into the early morning commute hours. The storm will also include a changeover to a wintry mix in some areas, with a drop in temperatures that could create icy conditions later in the day. We are not expecting damaging winds, widespread outages or coastal flooding with this system, but scattered power outages are possible, state officials warned Thursday evening.
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Some schools and colleges have already announced closures or remote learning days for Friday.
Non-emergency state employees have been told to work remotely and the state encourages private businesses to allow the same, as travel conditions will be hazardous, especially for the morning commute.
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MassDOT was out Thursday evening pre-treating roads. The MBTA is also preparing for dangerous conditions.
"If it's possible for people to stay off the roads, we would ask that they do so," Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said, asking that drivers give roads crews space to do their job.
The MBTA anticipates running subway lines and the commuter rail on regular weekday schedules, though changes could be possible as conditions develop. Mattapan line service will be suspended, replaced by bus service. Bus lines may have to run on snow routes. For more information on service changes, visit MBTA.com/winter.
In Lawrence on Thursday, Luis Rodriguez was stocking up on salt, and feeling salty about it.
"I’m feeling that I have to out there and it’s cold and I don’t like the snow too much right now because I thought it was the end of it," he said.
More on Friday's storm
Bruckmanns Hardware store sold out of the last of its salt supply Thursday. Despite a slow winter, they're also down to a handful of shovels.
"It's been hard getting stuff in because they don’t have it, they don’t have truckers to deliver it," Kurt Hultstron of Bruckmanns Hardware said.
The timing of the storm has some worried about their morning commute.
"Last time that snow fell I was trapped in traffic for almost two hours and a half, I work an hour away so it was pretty bad and it's pretty scary when you hear there is going to be a lot of snow like that," Lily Cortez told NBC10 Boston/NECN.
Public works crews will be out starting overnight, with a long day of plowing ahead.
"We have to do it, we have to keep our roads safe so people can go to work and go home," Jorge Jaime, Lawrence DPW director, said.
