Heavy, overnight snow and rain gave way to frigid temperatures and snow showers Friday as the second part of this week’s storm system got underway.
Light to moderate snow continued to fall from Worcester County to parts of the South Shore throughout the day, while the Cape and South Coast continued to deal with rain as temps remained just above freezing.
Through 6 p.m., scattered snow showers were expected to continue moving through the state before petering out by 9 p.m.
The second leg of the system was slated to be a colder, lighter affair compared to the first half of the storm system, which brought the majority of this week’s snow and slick driving conditions after Thursday afternoon.
North central Mass. and southern New Hampshire hit the snow total jackpot after flakes started falling, with reports in the Granite State such as 8.5″ in Hillsborough, 8.2″ in Greenville and 7.3″ in East Sandwich.
For Massachusetts, the place to be for tons of snow was Ashby, with at least 7″, with Townsend (6″), Fitchburg (4.8″), Lunenburg (4″) and Haverhill (4″) rounding out the top five spots. The figures still have room to grow, with snow continuing to fall in the area through the afternoon.
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WATCH: Ashby residents dig themselves out after getting more than half-a-foot of snow
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Break out the shovels before it gets dark!
With the flakes being of the heavy and wet variety, 7WEATHER recommends those who haven’t yet done any shoveling get at it before the late evening, when temperatures dip below 30 degrees and make an already tough task even harder.
“It’s heavy snow, just wet and you just get no traction – the headlights get all fogged up and you can’t see, you gotta clear off your lights so yeah, you’ve got about 6-8″,” said Ashby resident Dan Hanley as he spent Friday digging out his driveway as well as his neighbor’s.
“It’s winter in New England – I should be up at Killington Mountain skiing right now,” he joked.
Prompting a Winter Weather Advisory due to slick driving conditions, the heavy snow was difficult for homeowners and plow drivers alike, with one operator describing the challenges the system posed.
“It’s taking a toll on the trucks,” said plow driver Bruce Carey “We have a couple that are down right now – blew a tire out on one, we got another one down just dropped off at the mechanic – a blown turbo. We’re doing what we can with what we got.”
Across state lines, New Hampshire State Police reported a number of weather-related incidents, from a rollover that snarled the morning commute on I-93 North at Exit 5 to vehicles crashing off the road at I-293 North in Manchester.
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WATCH: Between shoveling and plowing, residents in Wilmington take in the snow
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Even before Friday, troopers responded to “over a dozen crashes and vehicles off the road” reported Thursday night after 8 p.m., as snow blanketed roadways.
In addition to the Winter Weather Advisory, a Coastal Flood Advisory was also issued for the North and South Shores between 5-11 a.m. on Friday. In one case, Route 1A in Salisbury was closed to traffic in both directions at Old Country Road due to flooded roadways, according to MassDOT.
For the weekend, dry conditions are on the way, but so is the potential for more rainy and snowy weather. For the latest information, check out the 7WEATHER Weather Blog.
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Notable NWS Reported Snow Totals (as of 12 p.m.)*
Massachusetts
Essex County
HAVERHILL 4.0 IN
METHUEN 3.0 IN
NORTH ANDOVER 3.0 IN
MIDDLETON 1.8 IN
ESSEX 1.5 IN
AMESBURY 1.3 IN
BOXFORD 1.2 IN
NEWBURYPORT 0.6 IN
BEVERLY 0.6 IN
FRANKLIN COUNTY
COLRAIN 1.5 IN
BERNARDSTON 1.5 IN
BUCKLAND 1.3 IN
CONWAY 1.0 IN
GREENFIELD 1.0 IN
MIDDLESEX COUNTY
ASHBY 6.3 IN
PEPPERELL 3.6 IN
DRACUT 3.3 IN
TEWKSBURY 2.8 IN
CARLISLE 2.7 IN
MAYNARD 2.1 IN
ACTON 2.1 IN
CHELMSFORD 2.0 IN
READING 2.0 IN
LOWELL 2.0 IN
CARLISLE 2.0 IN
LEXINGTON 2.0 IN
AYER 2.0 IN
HUDSON 1.4 IN
WINCHESTER 1.3 IN
SUDBURY 1.0 IN
MEDFORD 0.6 IN
FRAMINGHAM 0.5 IN
WORCESTER COUNTY
FITCHBURG 4.8 IN
LUNENBURG 4.0 IN
ASHBURNHAM 3.7 IN
PRINCETON 2.5 IN
WESTMINSTER 2.5 IN
STERLING 2.2 IN
New Hampshire
Belknap County
Laconia 6.0 in
New Hampton 6.0 in
Meredith 5.5 in
Belmont 1.7 SW 5.4 in
Sanbornton 4.9 in
Tilton Northfield 4.8 in
Carroll County
East Sandwich 7.3 in
Madison 6.5 in
Albany 6.0 in
Conway 6.0 in
Freedom 5.8 in
Jackson 5.8 in
Effingham 5.2 in
North Conway 5.2 in
West Ossipee 5.0 in
Wolfeboro 5.0 in
Tamworth 4.7 in
Bridgewater 3.8 in
Cheshire County
Spofford 4.0 in
Roxbury 3.1 in
Keene 3.0 in
Marlow 2.8 in
Swanzey 2.6 in
Rindge 2.5 in
West Chesterfield 2.1 in
Coos County
Berlin 6.0 in
Carroll 5.6 in
Pinkham Notch 5.0 in
Lancaster 4.5 in
Jefferson 4.4 in
Whitefield 4.3 in
Northumberland 3.5 in
Pittsburg 1.5 in
Grafton County
Bristol 0.4 SSE 5.5 in
Lincoln 5.0 in
Littleton 7.3 W 4.5 in
Plymouth 3.5 in
Hanover 4.8 NE 3.0 in
Lyme 3.0 in
Sugar Hill 3.0 in
Hillsborough County
Hillsborough 8.5 in
Greenville 8.2 in
Temple 7.0 in
New Boston 6.5 in
New Ipswich 6.4 in
Francestown 5.8 in
Mont Vernon 5.5 in
Goffstown 5.2 in
Windsor 5.2 in
Manchester Airport 4.9 in
Brookline 4.5 in
Milford 4.5 in
Bedford 4.2 in
Dublin 4.0 in
Merrimack 4.0 in
Peterborough 4.0 in
Hollis 3.3 in
Hudson 2.9 in
Nashua 2.8 in
Merrimack County
Northfield 6.8 in
South Sutton 6.7 in
Contoocook 6.5 in
Danbury 6.3 in
Bow 6.1 in
Dunbarton 6.0 in
Pittsfield 6.0 in
Henniker 5.3 in
Concord Municipal Airp 5.1 in
Canterbury 5.0 in
New London 4.8 in
Hooksett 4.4 in
Chichester 3.0 in
Rockingham County
Windham 6.1 in
Deerfield 6.0 in
Auburn 5.5 in
Fremont 5.3 in
Northwood 5.1 in
Derry 5.0 in
Hampstead 5.0 in
Sandown 5.0 in
Kingston 4.8 in
Newton 4.2 in
Atkinson 4.0 in
West Epping 3.0 in
Portsmouth Airport 3.0 in
Greenland 2.7 in
Stratham 2.7 in
Exeter 2.5 in
Londonderry 2.0 in
Strafford County
Strafford 7.0 in
Northwood 6.0 in
Dover 5.8 in
Barrington 5.7 in
Rollinsford 5.0 in
New Durham 4.5 in
Durham 4.3 in
Newmarket 3.5 in
Sullivan County
Newport 4.3 in
West Unity 3.5 in
Cornish 3.0 in
Goshen 3.0 in
*Per the National Weather Service: “Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.“
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