Boston sees heaviest snowfall in nearly 3 years as winter storm disrupts holiday travel in Northeast

Several inches of snow fell Friday evening across parts of the Northeast, with snowflakes even reaching the Interstate 95 corridor from Philadelphia through New York and into Boston for a period of potentially slippery travel during what was thought to be one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

About 3-6 inches of snow fell across eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and eastern Connecticut by Saturday morning.  

Boston’s famed Fenway Park reported a solid 6 inches of snow on the hallowed ground of the Boston Red Sox, while the city’s Logan Airport received 5.2 inches.

It was the largest snow accumulation in the city since the Blizzard of January 2022.

To the west, about 2-3 inches of snow fell in Providence, Rhode Island, and out east of Hartford, Connecticut.

The wintry weather wasn’t kind to airport travelers, with over 13,000 flights delayed and hundreds canceled on Friday.

Airports in Boston and New York were some of the hardest hit, with poor visibility and deicing efforts slowing travel.

Boston Public Works said they had around 400 pieces of equipment out treating and clearing roads on Friday evening, but the weather had already caused crashes around the commonwealth. 

The eastbound lanes of Interstate 90/Mass Pike were closed early Friday afternoon after multiple semi trucks collided, according to Auburn Fire Rescue. There were no reported injuries.  A separate crash near the same area in the westbound lanes about four hours later did cause some reported injuries, Auburn Fire Rescue said.

Lighter snow spread south along the Interstate 95 corridor into New York City and Philadelphia into Saturday morning, but accumulations were generally less than 2 inches. New York City was reporting snow, but it had yet to reach measurable amounts as of early Saturday morning. 

The waterways around the Big Apple commonly help infuse a marine layer, which in turn keeps temperatures warmer and leads to snow melting as it falls through the sky.

Many residents in skyscrapers reported seeing snowfall at higher elevations Friday, but the flakes did not accumulate at ground level through Friday evening.

The greatest snowfall amounts within close proximity to the city occurred in northern New Jersey, where widespread accumulations of 1-3 inches were reported.

The snowfall was courtesy of a fast-moving weather system coming out of Canada, known as an Alberta Clipper.

Meanwhile, a coastal low off the East Coast brought additional energy spinning up off the Carolinas. 

“You sometimes get what’s called an East Coast energy transfer, where you get the energy from the clipper system that almost gets absorbed into this East Coast storm as this thing rolls up the coastline,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Michael Estime said.

Following the quick shot of snow, temperatures will plunge through early next week into the teens and single digits across the Northeast before rebounding for Christmas.