Franklin County and the North Quabbin region saw an average of 4 to 8 inches of snow Sunday night into Monday afternoon in a storm that prompted Gov. Maura Healey to declare a state of emergency for Massachusetts.
National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Nash said the region got the lighter end of the storm. Although National Weather Service observations from Orange Municipal Airport recorded the heaviest snowfall and lowest visibility from 7 to 9 a.m. Monday, Nash said the storm simmered down by noon and was nearing its end in the early afternoon.
“In comparison to points farther east and south, [Franklin County] is just having a minor little snow event. It looks like we’ve seen snowfall reports of generally 4 to 6 inches in the area, which is a far cry compared to the 12 to 20 inches that we’re seeing here across southeast Massachusetts,” Nash said in an interview Monday. “It’s a bit breezy for the [Franklin County and North Quabbin regions], with gusts up to 30 or 40 mph. But again, that’s far cry from the 60, 75, 80 mph winds across the southeast, the cape and the islands.”
Healey signed an executive order Monday afternoon to place an immediate ban on non-essential vehicle travel in Bristol, Plymouth and Barnstable counties because of dangerous road conditions. The speed limit on the Massachusetts Turnpike was also reduced to 40 mph as a result of the storm.
Nash noted that, with daytime temperatures averaging 25 degrees Fahrenheit and cold temperatures of 15 degrees expected overnight, drivers should still be cautious of icy roads and take breaks if needed while shoveling snow.
“It’s mid-February in western Massachusetts — it snows. The roads are going to be slippery, but with the plows and snow crews getting everything cleared up, I would think by later this afternoon into this evening, things will be pretty fine out there,” Nash said Monday morning. “Be careful when you’re cleaning the snow. Don’t overexert yourself, even if it’s only 6 inches.”
Neither National Grid nor Eversource reported any outages in Franklin County or the North Quabbin area as of 2:30 p.m. Monday.
According to Deerfield Highway Superintendent Matthew Morse, most local drivers have stayed off the roads. He said that while the town saw up to 8 inches of snow in the early morning hours Monday, the Highway Department’s nine plow trucks and privately contracted snow scrapers have kept the roads clear.
“For the most part, it seems like people are staying off the roads; people are playing this one safe,” Morse said at 11:30 a.m. Monday. “It looks like there’s a lot more snowfall to the south of us, so I guess you could say we got the better end of this storm up north than they did down south or out east even.”
Morse said he is proud of the Highway Department’s proactive efforts to combat the storm, such as treating the roads Sunday night before snowfall. He added that at approximately 3 a.m., crews performed a “full scrape” of the town’s roadways and came back again later in the morning to plow.
Once the storm settles, Morse said his crews will plow to clear up any remaining snow on the roads before the school day begins Tuesday morning.