It’s trying weather times like these that we look to the great philosophers for an explanation. For hope.
So we turn not to the Presidents we celebrate today. No, we turn to New York Yankee legend Yogi Berra. Lots of truth in this, but no comfort: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” It ain’t over.Right on Neptune’s heels, here comes Winter Storm Octavia.
There’s more snow on the way for the Northeast, anywhere from one to three inches Monday night into Tuesday for Boston and New York, and three to five for Philadelphia, promising to make a mess of the post-holiday weekend commute. The worst of the cold is upon us and it’s only up from here, but not by much, only to the high teens/low 20s on Monday. At 6 a.m., this was the brutal tail-end-of- Neptune temperature reality: Boston: -1 degrees. Real feel: -25 (3 27). “The big story is subzero air temperatures with wind chills as low as 20 to 40 below zero,” Matthew Belk of the National Weather Service told the Associated Press. With the possibility of frostbite for exposed skin taking “a matter of minutes,” the advice remains: “Dress in layers and don’t go outside if you don’t have to,” he said. BIG DIG AFTER ANOTHER BOSTON BLIZZARD
The other big story was this: A blizzard buried metro Boston with another two feet of snow in some areas.
February is now the snowiest on record in the city. And it’s the third snowiest winter on record.
NYC: 5 degrees. Real feel: -7.
Philly: 3 degrees. Real feel: -14
Snowiest month on record in Boston! Thru 1 PM, Feb 2015 snow is 58.5 inches, previous record is 43.3 inches (Jan 2005). Only 2+ wks in!
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) February 15, 2015
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is planning limited service today and will operate on a Saturday schedule — and mostly underground.Check the agency’s website for updates. And WCVB is reporting: “Monday morning the MBTA is hiring hundreds of outside workers in what it’s calling an “all out snow removal offensive” to help to manually dig the Braintree line out.”
Video: Crews work to keep rail lines clear; MBTA hiring hundreds to shovel http://t.co/JjHNyf1qSF
— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) February 16, 2015
The coming storm will only complicate things and even Mayor Marty Walsh sounded beyond exasperated when he faced reporters Sunday.
“I ask everyone to stay calm and remain cautious and focused on safety,” Walsh said. “This has been nearly a month’s worth of snow that we’re getting here, one weekend after another. I know it’s getting frustrating for everyone. It’s getting frustrating even for myself. There’s no place to put the snow.” So is the end near? Not bloody likely.National Weather Service meteorologist tellsThe Boston Herald: “You could say the likelihood of an active winter weather pattern continues for the foreseeable future.” The usually dry NWS bulletin writers even slipped this line into one of its weekend reports, which are always written in all caps: NEXT CHANCE OF WARMTH – SOMETIME SPRING INTO SUMMER. Yep. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. Sorry, Metro faithful.
The weather is beginning to get to the National Weather Service meteorologists. http://t.co/59IbLK9NsK #BOSnow pic.twitter.com/jMSf5C8WvR
— Saul Tannenbaum (@stannenb) February 15, 2015
Here’s what’s coming behind all these winter storms (hint: not spring): http://t.co/68UsPcqHZq pic.twitter.com/rtzP22RIIc
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) February 15, 2015
