BOSTON (WHDH) - Cleanup efforts are well underway across the Bay State on Saturday morning after the state saw its first significant snowfall of the season on Friday, with some communities seeing upwards of one foot of snow.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation had deployed just shy of 300 pieces of equipment to treat the snowy roadways as temperatures dip overnight.
Flakes began falling during the early morning hours Friday with heavy bands of snow moving through the Bay State until around 11 a.m.
The storm created poor travel conditions during the morning commute.
After making it through the height of the storm, Rafael Torres said he is done driving for the night. He said he is not taking any chances with a freeze.
“We have light snow, not heavy snow, later tonight it’ll be icy,” he said. “Drive very slow and very careful, that’s all I gotta do.”
Driving was tough when the storm hit Friday morning. Poor visibility and bad traction led to spinouts and crashes across the Commonwealth.
Around 7 a.m., an MBTA bus ended up sideways on the Mass. Turnpike after state police say it hit the median barrier and spun out, blocking three lanes of westbound traffic westbound in Boston. No injuries were reported and the scene was cleared an hour later.
Mass. DOT said as of 12:20 p.m., 2,487 pieces of equipment were out conducting ice and snow operations.
Officials encouraged drivers to give those people space as they worked to scrape everything off the pavement before the temperatures dropped overnight. Roads are expected to turn icy with windchills dipping into the teens and single digits in some areas.
Residents across the state quickly got to work clearing the snow after it stopped falling, knowing what’s coming next.
“It was a lot of snow, but at least it was still fluffy, so it wasn’t as bad, but when it ices over and gets all heavy, it’s a lot worse,” one person said.
People are reminded to clear snow off their cars and to shovel out nearby fire hydrants.
Visit the 7NEWS Weather page for the latest weather updates.
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