Massachusetts declares state of emergency as nor'easter expected to drop up to 2 feet in Greater Boston

Governor Healy declared a state of emergency in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on Tuesday afternoon as a powerful nor'easter approached, urging residents to stay off roads and prepare for heavy snow beginning tonight and continuing through Monday. "This is a serious storm," she said, adding that heavy snowfall was expected to begin around 10:00 p.m.

The governor said the state expects 12 to 18 inches of snow across much of Massachusetts and 18 to 24 inches in the Greater Boston region, with snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour at times and coastal gusts up to 75 miles per hour. Officials warned of whiteout conditions, wind chills in the low teens and a strong likelihood of power outages and downed trees.

To support response and recovery, Healy said she had ordered activation of the state emergency operations center and directed the deployment of resources across agencies and partners, and announced activation of 200 members of the Massachusetts National Guard "to assist with rescue response, with debris removal, and the like." She also directed that Monday be a remote telework day for all nonemergency state employees across the executive branch and urged private employers to do the same.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) said it would activate regional emergency operation centers in Agawam, Tewksbury and Franklin beginning at 7 a.m. Monday and would staff the state emergency operations center throughout the event. "Finalize your emergency plans today," MEMA Director Don Brantley said, noting MEMA's coordination with local emergency managers, utilities and public safety partners.

MassDOT and highway officials said they had pre-positioned roughly 3,000 pieces of snow- and ice-fighting equipment, completed pretreatment on priority corridors and confirmed salt supplies are full. Jonathan Gulliver, the undersecretary of transportation and highway administrator, announced a commercial vehicle restriction taking effect at 5 p.m. that will bar tractor trailers, box trucks and similar large vehicles until conditions improve to reduce the risk of jackknifes and prolonged closures.

Transit agencies also shifted service. The MBTA implemented emergency (essential/weekend-level) schedules across subway, bus and commuter rail for Monday, will operate the Mattapan line with substitute buses and suspended all ferry routes for Monday because of forecasted wind. MBTA officials asked customers to check mbta.com and the MBTA Go app for the latest service updates.

Officials urged residents to prepare for outages and to use available resources: call 2-1-1 to locate warming centers if power is lost and consult mass.gov/snow for storm tips and updates. Utilities said they had pre-staged additional line and tree crews in areas expected to be hardest hit and warned that restoration could take multiple days.

The briefing closed with a request to check on neighbors, especially older residents, and to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary so crews can respond to the most critical needs. State officials said they will continue to monitor conditions and provide updates via MEMA, MassDOT and the MBTA websites.