GARDNER, MASS. (WHDH) - Communities in northern Worcester County were busy getting ready Monday ahead of upcoming weather that may drop jackpot snow totals on the region.
Snow began to arrive in western and central Massachusetts on Monday night. The storm could drop between 12 and 18 inches of snow in parts of Worcester County and southern New Hampshire before all is said and done early Wednesday morning.
At Aubuchon Hardware in Gardner, a run on rock salt had the registers ringing fast and furiously on Monday with residents rushing to scoop up storm supplies.
Elsewhere, Department of Public Works crews were busy preparing plows.
Some community members also stocked up on free sand outside the DPW headquarters.
“I got my salt and my sand,” Rich Girouard told 7NEWS. “I’ve got my snowblowers all set to go. I’ve got two shovels and a strong back.”
Staring down late season snow in a year that has been more quiet than many in terms of winter storm activity, many have seen this week’s winter weather as a reminder that winter isn’t done with New England yet.
“You never know,” another area community member said. “There’s a lot of things at play here, but it seems like storms that are winding up for this are coming together into a perfect storm.”
Where forecasts call for an all-snow event in parts of Western and Central Massachusetts, the rest of the state is set to see rain start this storm.
The rain arrived Monday and is expected to linger into Tuesday before transitioning to snow.
Outside jackpot pockets of snow in Worcester County and western Massachusetts, Worcester itself, as well as a number of communities along 495 stretching into the Merrimack Valley, could see between six and nine inches of snow. Parts of the North Shore, areas inside Route 128 and communities south of Boston could see three to six inches.
Snow totals will likely be lower on the South Shore and the South Coast.
While spared from the worst of the snow, coastal areas are likely to see howling winds at times, with possible moderate coastal flooding. For more information and the latest forecast, check out the 7WEATHER Blog and more here.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)