Snow In Newton: Parking Ban, No School, What To Know

NEWTON, MA — The National Weather Service issued a winter storm advisory and a wind advisory for until 1 p.m. Thursday across the state, including in Newton. And early Thursday morning the school district called school off. Newton police issued a parking ban on account of the snow.

What? Snow? Yep: Snow is expected to accumulate in the range of 1 to 2 inches in Newton tonight starting sometime after 3 p.m. and continuing into Thursday afternoon. It could yet mix with rains at time, so get ready for a heavy, wet snow. By the time you wake up there could be between 7 and 11 inches of snow on the ground in the city. Thursday will bring another inch of snow and then some rain, according to the National Weather Service.

As of Wednesday afternoon, evening and after school activities were cancelled across Newton, but it took til Thursday morning before schools were scheduled to be closed all day Thursday, too. Newton Patch will continue to update this story with cancellations as we learn about them.

The city declared a Snow Emergency/Parking Ban to be in effect beginning tonight at midnight (3/8/18). Vehicles parked on the street are subject to being towed, they tweeted out.

Generally, the Public Works Director will call a “snow emergency” when excessive amounts of snow are predicted. All vehicles are required to be removed from all roadways to allow for a better clearing job. All vehicles left on the road are subject to tow.

Why? The Newton Department of Public Works has to clear the snow and ice from some 300 miles of its roads, plus about 80 miles of public sidewalk, a portion of State Route 9 from Parker Street to Chestnut Street, and 15 municipal parking lots.

Streets and parking lots are divided into 94 plow routes, plowed by both City employees and contractors. Each route is plowed in a specific sequence and made passable as quickly and efficiently as possible, according to the city. Once the storm is over, the routes are widened out by pushing snow back to the curb line and clearing intersections. In general, the intent is to have all of the streets cleared within 8 hours after the storm has ended, according to the city website.

If you own a residential building or lot adjacent to a public sidewalk, you are required by City Ordinance to clear snow and ice from the walk and access ramps within 30 hours after a snow storm is over. If you own a business that is adjacent to a public sidewalk, you are required to clear the sidewalk within 24 hours. View the complete City Ordinance.

This story will be updated when new information about the storm becomes available. Subscribe to Newton Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

How's the commute look tonight? Um. The Governor isn't too optimistic about it.

Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch