North Shore Blizzard: A 'Stay Home' Saturday In The Snow

SALEM, MA — It's a good day to stay home on the North Shore.

That was the message from state officials on Friday and one that North Shore officials echoed Saturday as crews looked to stay ahead of the blowing and drifting snow as it approached a foot or more in spots.

"During the winter storm, please use caution," the Danvers Department of Public Works said. "Refrain from driving and walking on and along roadways. With minimal visibility for plow drivers, pedestrians should remain off the roads."

Of course, there are times for the furriest members of the family when nature calls. But even in those cases, residents are advised to keep them out for as short a time as possible with wind chills hovering around zero during the height of the storm.

A full list of cold weather pet safety tips from Beverly Animal Control can be found here.

As of 2 p.m., there were more than 112,000 power outages across the state. but relatively few of those outages were on the North Shore, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

Heavy snow bands set up along the immediate coast with Cape Cod, Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island expected to be the snowfall jackpot area with up to 30 inches by the time it starts winding down Saturday night.

Winds were cranking throughout the day along the coast early Saturday with Truro reporting a 99 mph gust and power knocked out in Provincetown to 100 percent of customers at one point. The National Weather Service forecast gusts of 50 mph or more on the North Shore with gusts up to 75 mph on Cape Ann. A top gust of 77 mph was reported in Rockport.

There could also be mild to moderate flooding and beach erosion around the time of Saturday's second high tide at about 9 p.m.

"No road closures yet, but the Department of Public Services and Salem police are monitoring conditions in areas prone to flooding," Salem officials said. "If you do not have to go out, remain at home. Plowing operations are underway, focused on clearing at least one lane to allow emergency vehicles access."

Salem officials also asked residents to "please be patient as this will be a multi-day snow cleaning event."

There were snow emergency parking bans in Beverly, Danvers, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. Marblehead's overnight parking ban is for two nights, including Sunday from 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m.

The "bomb cycle" storm brought snow and damage throughout the Northeast. Check out this photo gallery of shots from the storm affecting major cities, including Philadelphia, New York and Boston, blasting the region with blizzard conditions.

If you have any photos from the storm that you would like included in a possible North Shore gallery, send them — including the community where they were taken — to scott.souza@patch.com.

Patch will post updates throughout what could be one of the biggest one-day snowfalls in recent North Shore history.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)