Boston has declared a snow emergency effective 8 a.m. Wednesday morning after the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the area through 1 a.m. Thursday, forcing officials to plan and students to hope for a possible snow day on Boston University’s campus.
The snowstorm that has already reburied the mid-Atlantic is approaching Massachusetts at a fast pace, and meteorologists are predicting about 6 to 8 inches of snow. Weather.com predicts a 100 percent chance of snow from 1 p.m. through 12 a.m. Thursday.
Accumulations in southern Massachusetts may be up to 12 inches, though the snowfall could peter out to as low as 4 inches in Boston, according to the Weather Service alert.
Boston Public Schools announced Tuesday night they will be closed for the day, and many events around the city and around campus have also already been canceled or postponed.
A Tuesday press release by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation warned of possible travel woes.
“MassDOT encourages residents and commuters to plan ahead by using public transportation when possible and leave plenty of time for travel in order to help keep the roads clear for local plowing crews as the storm intensifies during the afternoon rush hour,” the release states.
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the T would be running today.
“The T does not close down because of inclement weather,” he said in an email.
As part of the snow emergency, the city has also declared a parking ban. Boston Police Department cruisers drove through South Campus Tuesday night broadcasting the snow emergency message over their PAs and advising residents to get their cars off the streets as soon as possible to avoid fines and towing.
As of press time, BU officials had not announced if the campus would be closed. An announcement was expected by 6 a.m. Wednesday morning.
The last academic snow day was on March 2, 2009, BU’s first in five years. In January of that year, Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore had said to The Daily Free Press snow days were rare at BU.
“We’re New Englanders. We’re hardy people,” he said. “Most certainly, if your professor can make it in, you can make it in.”
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