Boston Is Ready for a Snowy Winter
Mayor Marty Walsh detailed the ways in which the city is prepared for winter weather.
Photo by Madeline Billis
Massachusetts is no stranger to salt: salty oceans, salty residents, salty pigs, and, apparently, a lot of literal salt.
Boston is equipped with 44,000 tons of road salt—about as heavy as 7,000 Asian elephants—to take on Mother Nature’s winter wrath this year. The city has also added an extra 60 pieces of snow and ice removal equipment to its ranks, bringing the total to 200 plows, shovels, and other supplies.
“We are working to make sure that we are prepared [for] whatever we get thrown at us by winter this year,” Walsh said at a Wednesday press conference, according to the Boston Globe. “We are doing everything we can to keep our roads safe before, during, and after a storm.”
Walsh reiterated the city’s priority to keep residents protected in emergency situations and referenced the AlertBoston system, which updates people via phone or text about storm situations.
Boston Public Schools closed 19 times between the 2012-13 and 2015-16 school years, a relatively high number compared to other large districts around the country, no doubt helped along by the record-breaking winter from hell back in 2015. But perhaps with the added supplies Boston has on hand for this winter, BPS will keep its doors open (much to the chagrin of students who would probably prefer to spend the day sledding). Walsh said he is aiming for fewer than five snow days this year, according to the Globe. We’ll see about that, said nature.
Early seasonal forecasts indicated the Hub could be in for a warmer winter than usual, though the long-term predictions aren’t always super accurate. On average, Boston sees 44 inches of snow ever year, but of course, there’s always room for a little extra adventure. Not like a 2015 adventure, though! No one wants that adventure again.
