A messy evening commute is on the horizon for many as snow falling across Massachusetts continues to head east, with cold temperatures turning rain into flakes and sleet.
The storm that has already left up to 4″ in northern Worcester County and 7-8″ in parts of southern New Hampshire is expected to bring 1-3″ inches to the Boston area after crossing into the region around noontime.
Even the South Coast, which saw mostly rain during last week’s storm system, could get anywhere from a coating to 1″ through Monday evening.
The current storm system is likely to feature its heaviest snow from 1 p.m. to 5-6 p.m., with areas like Worcester seeing the most flakes during the start of the timeframe and Boston impacted more towards the latter half.
The bulk of Boston’s snow is likely to come in the form of a burst, hitting the area just as the evening commute kicks off, with conditions worsening especially around 4 p.m., making for slick roads and slow going travel.
Lots of snow in New Hampshire. On the way back from Stowe and roads basically covered from the NH/VT border to Concord.
On 89 one lane totally covered and one mostly covered. pic.twitter.com/Sx7OKjzmN8
— Josh Wurster (@joshwurster_) January 23, 2023
—
WATCH: Slick streets, downed lines and off-road crashes keep crews busy in Fitchburg
—
While a looming wallop of snow could mean hectic evening commutes in the Boston area, drivers out west and to the north already had their fair share of challenges Monday morning, with state police in New Hampshire responding to over 25 crashes reported between 5-9 a.m. in the Granite State, according to their Twitter account.
Between the hours of 5-9AM, Troopers have responded to more than 25 crashes and vehicles off the road throughout the state.
📸 – I-93 southbound in Bow at the I-89 Junction pic.twitter.com/81tgUkm1vN
— New Hampshire State Police (@NH_StatePolice) January 23, 2023
Speeds on I-93 were lowered to 45 mph for a time as crews continued to respond to cases of vehicles going off the road, including a rollover crash near Exit 5 in Londonderry, roughly near the spot where a similar rollover happened during the previous storm system.
In Massachusetts, downed trees and electrical lines were a reoccurring issue for communities like Westminster, where more than one fallen tree blocked traffic on Bolton Road.
Just off of Route 2, emergency crews responded to Hagar Park Road and Narrows Road where a utility post caught fire, causing outages for the area, according to the police department.
By 12:45 p.m., some 10,000 customers were without power across the state in general, including 500 in Westminster, per the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s outage map.
Semi carrying cars slid off 89 just outside Concord, NH. @7News pic.twitter.com/Bj81mAfY4d
— Josh Wurster (@joshwurster_) January 23, 2023
In Fitchburg, heavy, wet snow translated to trees cracking apart and onto the road in neighborhoods like Hope Street, toppling onto wires during the morning as crews responded to calls throughout the day.
With the storm’s slushy leftovers expected to freeze later in the evening, residents were out and shoveling, with some telling 7NEWS they were taking the latest storm in stride.
“(It’s) winter in New England – like nothing else,” said Dan Sevigny. “I haven’t got bit by a bug yet. If you don’t like the weather, go to Florida, I don’t care – I’m staying here!”
🚨🚨Area of Hagar Park Road at Narrows Road🚨🚨
Emergency crews in the area. Use caution and expect delays. National Grid has been notified. We believe that electricity is out in the area at this time as well. #westminsterMAPD pic.twitter.com/hJ6V1pFUtL
— Westminster Police (@WestminsterPDMA) January 23, 2023
For more information and the latest forecast, check out the 7WEATHER Weather Blog here.
—
Notable NWS Reported Snow Totals (as of 12 p.m.)*
Massachusetts
Franklin CountyMontague 5.0 inRowe 4.0 inColrain 3.5 inRowe 3.0 inBuckland 2.4 inGreenfield 2.2 inBernardston 2.0 inConway 2.0 in
Hampshire CountyHadley 3.7 inPlainfield 2.6 in
Middlesex CountyAshby 3.0 inPepperell 2.0 in
Worcester CountyWestminster 3.5 inAshburnham 3.0 inGardner 2.8 inAshburnham 2.8 inLunenburg 1.5 inFitchburg 1.4 in
New Hampshire
Belknap CountyBelmont 4.5 inNorth Laconia 4.5 inMeredith 4.4 in
Carroll CountyMadison 6.0 inFreedom 5.6 inOssipee 5.3 inWolfeboro 4.5 inEast Sandwich 4.1 inCenter Sandwich 4.1 inTamworth 4.0 inCenter Sandwich 3.5 in
Cheshire CountyMarlow 7.5 inSurry 6.8 inKeene 6.7 in
Coos CountyWhitefield 8.0 inCarroll 8.0 inJefferson 7.8 inBerlin 7.5 inNorthumberland 5.0 inLancaster 4.5 inPinkham Notch 4.0 in
Grafton CountyBristol 4.0 inLyme 3.4 inCampton 3.3 inHanover 3.2 inPlymouth 3.0 in
Hillsborough CountyFrancestown 8.0 inHillsborough 7.1 inNew Boston 7.0 inPeterborough 6.0 inMont Vernon 4.1 inGreenville 3.5 inManchester Airport 3.2 in
Merrimack CountyBow 8.3 inDunbarton 7.5 inConcord Municipal Airport 7.2 inNorthfield 7.2 inConcord 7.0 inPittsfield 6.5 inCanterbury 6.4 inSouth Sutton 6.3 inHenniker 6.0 inPittsfield 6.0 inSutton Mills 5.7 inCanterbury 5.0 inContoocook 4.3 inDanbury 4.3 inChichester 4.0 inNew London 4.0 inSouth Hooksett 2.6 in
Rockingham CountyNorthwood 7.0 inDeerfield 5.0 inDerry 3.0 inAuburn 2.5 inHampstead 1.7 inSandown 1.5 inPortsmouth Airport 1.4 inStratham 1.0 in
Strafford CountyStrafford 6.5 inBarrington 5.0 inNorthwood 3.7 inRochester 3.0 inDurham 2.0 in
Sullivan CountyNewport 5.8 in
*Per the National Weather Service: “Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.“