Valentine’s Day Winter Storm To Slam New England As Boston Continues To Struggle With Record Snow

More snow is on the horizon for New England this weekend, as blizzard conditions are expected to hit the region on Valentine’s Day. Meteorologists predict up to a foot of new snow from Massachusetts to Maine, with another 8 to 14 inches of new snowfall for Boston alone, which has struggled to dig itself out from the massive snow mounds already on the ground from recent, record-breaking winter storms.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said that the city would likely institute another parking ban and snow emergency. However, "snow removal is our top priority in the city of Boston right now,” Walsh said during a press conference Thursday afternoon, according to New England Cable News. "We're looking at how we take down those snow banks." He asked residents not to shovel snow from the sidewalks into the streets or in front of local businesses, which have been especially impacted by the massive snow totals that have barred residents from traveling down sidewalks or reaching their vehicles.

Mounds of hard packed snow lined the streets and sidewalks of many parts of the city this week following the storms that dumped record levels of snow throughout the city. The recent storms left more than 70 inches of snow on Boston’s doorstep, beating the city’s previous record 30-day total of 58.5 inches set 37 years ago.

City workers overwhelmed by the amount of snow needing removal have had to borrow snow melters from New York City as well as open up additional snow farms -- vacant lots throughout the city where snow from streets and sidewalks could be piled. At one snow farm in South Boston, crews at one point were melting 350 tons of snow per hour, according to WBZ-TV, the CBS affiliate in Boston. “I can’t see anybody, they can’t walk, you can’t drive, somebody has to do something about it,” Shan Mohiudein, a resident of Boston’s South End neighborhood, told WBZ-TV.

The pending storm is the result of low pressure traveling southeast from the Great Lakes. It was forecasted to intensify along the New England coast Saturday night and into Sunday. Residents could expect high winds and moderate snow throughout the day on Saturday, followed by heavy snowfall and blustery winds on Saturday night. Meteorologists said the storm would dissipate by Sunday night, but that temperatures would remain fixed in the sing digits or low teens, according to The Weather Channel.