Boston sets 7-day snowfall record

If it's any consolation, we're part of a history-making period in Boston weather. As of 1 p.m. Monday, Boston set a new record for snowiest seven-day period in the city's history with 34.2 inches. The old record of 31.2 inches was set 19 years ago in January, 1996.

Snowfall totals to the north of the Massachusetts Turnpike may reach 15 to 18 inches, with up to 20 inches in some areas. Schools in Boston were closed for Tuesday.

"The safety of our children and families in Boston is always our top priority. Our crews will be working hard to clear all streets and schools tonight and tomorrow as we recover from this ongoing winter storm," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said.

Tony Troc, of Whitman, Mass., was among those looking on the bright side of shoveling snow, and sees it as a pretty good workout.

"It doesn't bother me at all," said Troc, of Whitman, who works in a supermarket warehouse and spoke Monday after clearing about eight inches of snow from his driveway. "If I didn't like it, I'd be in Florida."

Just a week after a blockbuster blizzard dropped up to three feet of snow in some part of Massachusetts, another winter storm is expected to bring another foot of snow or more.

Wind-blown snow started falling in the early hours of Monday and continued for the day.

By noon, Lunenburg had more than 13 inches and Westminster nearly a foot, according to unofficial snowfall totals reported by the National Weather Service. Weymouth and Lynn had 10 inches.

Lunenburg was one of a handful of Massachusetts communities that got three feet of snow during the last storm. In Weymouth, a woman died after she was struck by a plow, David Traub, a spokesman for the Norfolk district attorney's office said. Troc, after clearing his own driveway, moved on to a neighbor's house.

"I live for this stuff," said Troc, who enjoys the workout shoveling provides. "When I'm in Vegas or California on vacation, I remember this. By going through the bad, you enjoy the good more," he said.

Many cities and towns gave kids another snow day out of school, and banned on-street parking. But Gov. Charlie Baker did not order a ban on non-essential travel, as he had done in the prior storm. Many people tried to make it to work, jamming area highways with slow-moving traffic. State police were reporting numerous spinouts.

The MBTA was operating, although with delays, while buses were being rerouted. Dozens of flights in and out of Logan International Airport were canceled, although two runways remained open.

"The airlines have thinned out their schedules and we ran less than 50 percent this morning," Ed Freni, aviation director at the Massachusetts Port Authority said. "They expect to do somewhat the same this afternoon, so there will be more than 500 flights canceled."

Freni also talked about charter flights bringing fans back from the Super Bowl. One charter landed Monday morning and several others are expected later in the day. He said none should have problems getting into Boston.

The state Transportation Department had deployed about 3,300 pieces of equipment as of 9 a.m.

Walsh, in addition to dealing with the storm, was planning a celebration for the New England Patriots. He said a parade would be held Tuesday, starting at the Prudential Center and ending at City Hall.

The good news was that power outages were minimal, and no coastal flooding was expected, according to the state Emergency Management Agency. The state's two major utilities were reporting about 1,500 outages combined Monday morning, out of almost 2.5 million customers.

Chomsky: We Are All – Fill in the Blank.

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