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Snow-choked New England braced for more winter grief later in the week as people dug out from another 2 feet of snow Tuesday amid below-freezing temperatures and stranded Boston commuters scrambled to find other ways to get to work.
Officials considered dumping the latest snow by the truckload into the ocean, and forecasters warned that more snow is possible Thursday and again over the weekend.
Here’s how the region is coping:
Boston-area subways, trolleys and commuter rail trains remained idle Tuesday, with only limited bus service continuing. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said it needed the break to clear snow and ice from tracks and to assess equipment damaged by the spate of storms.
Boston hospitals set up sleeping areas for workers, and police were offering rides to work for doctors and nurses.
Hundreds of flights were canceled at New England airports.
After a brief respite Wednesday, forecasters said much of New England is on track to get more snow Thursday and into the Friday morning commute, with 3 inches expected in Boston and 6 or more south of the city.
A much larger storm could dump appreciably higher amounts Sunday into Monday, but meteorologists said it was still too early to say how much. Experts urged people to clear as much snow as possible from the roofs of homes and businesses in the meantime to avoid collapses.
A 60-year-old man who had just finished work at a supermarket bakery in Medford, Massachusetts, was struck in a parking lot by a private snow plowing truck Monday and died after being taken to a hospital, authorities said. Police interviewed the driver of the snow plow but no charges were immediately filed in the death of Cesar Moya.
Massachusetts environmental officials gave cities and towns with no place else to put accumulating snow the green light to dump some into the ocean or other bodies of water if necessary.
The Department of Environmental Protection on Monday cited the challenges involved in getting rid of the historic snowfalls. Local communities may seek permission to take emergency steps that allow disposal of snow into open water, which is normally prohibited. Officials also were using giant melters to liquefy snow.
Clean-up crews in New Hampshire also were struggling to find dumping grounds.
Footprints in the snow led police to suspects in the robbery of a bar in Worcester, Massachusetts, and in a rash of car break-ins in Framingham, Massachusetts.
An employee of the Three G’s Sports Bar told police he was putting money in a bag when a man jumped over the counter, pushed him to the ground and grabbed the bag. The suspect fled out the back door, but police tracked him through the snow to a nearby apartment and collared him.
Framingham police made a similar arrest, following footprints in the snow to apprehend a man suspected of several car break-ins Monday morning.
A Massachusetts state trooper helped deliver a baby after the mother went into labor on the way to the hospital.
The couple was driving to the hospital at about 2:40 a.m. Tuesday just hours after a huge snowstorm when it became apparent that the birth was imminent. The father stopped the car and called 911. When he noticed a cruiser approaching, he flashed the lights of his SUV to attract the trooper’s attention.
Trooper Patrick Devin assisted in the birth and wrapped the baby boy in a blanket.
The roof at a Massachusetts music store that’s home to a rhinestone-encrusted grand piano once owned by Liberace collapsed under the weight of snow.
Rockland Fire Chief Scott Duffey said a large section of roof fell into the showroom Tuesday morning at the Piano Mill. No one was in the building at the time. Owner Rob Norris said it was unclear if the Liberace piano was damaged. He said the Liberace piano has 88,888 rhinestones and has been appraised at $500,000.
Associated Press writers Bob Salsberg, Steve LeBlanc, Tracee M. Herbaugh and Philip Marcelo in Boston contributed to this report.
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