Governor Healy urges residents to stay home as state activates emergency operations ahead of major snowstorm

Governor Healy urged residents to stay off the roads and take safety precautions as the Commonwealth prepares for a fast-moving, long-duration snowstorm forecast to produce heavy snowfall and poor visibility.

Healy said he has activated the state emergency operations center and directed state agencies to deploy as needed to "get us through the next couple of days." He cautioned that snow could fall at rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour and described the event as the most significant storm in several years, advising people who are on the road to "get off the road" because visibility and road conditions will rapidly deteriorate.

Dawn Brantley, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said MEMA has opened 40 warming shelters with capacity for 1,998 people as of about 9:40 a.m., activated emergency support functions and is coordinating closely with regional and municipal emergency management. "This will be our most significant snowstorm in several years," Brantley said, and she urged residents to charge devices, secure batteries for medical equipment, check appliance exhaust vents and…