Its Official: Worcester Says It Is Snow Season

Tuesday, December 01, 2015

It is official - it is now snow season in Worcester. This does not mean the ski lifts are open or the plows have it the roads, but means that the parking bans and enforcement season is now upon us.

The beginning of December signifies the beginning of snow policies in Worcester as well as other Central Mass communities.

For Worcester, the rules are extensive and as you know Worcester is in the proverbial snow belt. Last winter Worcester was deemed to be the snowiest city in America. For much of the Winter Lowell, MA and Worcester battled storm by storm for snoww accumulation supremacy.

Worcester exceeded 110 inches and the total bill was approximately $5 million to plow the snow off the streets.

As GoLocal previously reported, “The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its 2015-2016 “U.S. Winter Outlook” last week, in which due to El Nino, it predicted the Northeast to have a warmer — and wetter — than normal winter. NECN reported, however “Super Cold, Slew of Snow Predicted for New England by Old Farmer’s Almanac” at the end of the summer.

So which one is it?

“I can't say with any confidence how this winter will turn out as there's a variance in signals with respect to global weather patterns,” said Benjamin Sipprell with the National Weather Service in Taunton, MA. “In the northern hemisphere, there are mixed-signals. It can go one way or the other with respect to temperature and precipitation. There's a dependence on how the atmosphere responds.”

GoLocal veteran meteorologist John Ghiorse, like Sipprell at the NWS, was reticent to make any bold predictions.

“As usual, I am very skittish when it comes to seasonal weather predictions. There are so many variables to consider (El Nino, Arctic Oscillation, etc.) that we know about and far more variables that are unknown or that we know so little about. I do, however, sense (mainly from the strong El Nino predicted) that this winter will not be as brutally cold for such an extended period as we had last winter. This is based on the idea that the Arctic cold would be trapped in Northern Canada for much (but not all!) of the winter," said Ghiorse.

Here is what you need to know about Worcester’s storm rules (this information was provided by the City of Worcester) - this is the worksheet to keep you from getting tickets and towed:

Public streets fall under two ban categories, PERMANENT and DECLARED:

A PERMANENT BAN will remain in effect on Emergency Arteries, WRTA Bus Routes and streets that are critical to the flow of traffic. The permanent ban means that from December 1st through April 30th there is no parking on one or both sides of the street between 2 AM and 6 AM and also when a snow emergency is declared, anytime day or night.
A DECLARED BAN will be in effect on all remaining city streets. The declared ban means that parking is allowed on both sides of the street until the winter parking ban is put into effect. You can expect the winter parking ban to go into effect whenever inclement weather is forecasted.

Parking Tickets

The Winter Parking Ban is designed to keep streets open, safe and essential traffic moving during snow storms. Failure to follow Parking Ban restrictions may result in ticketing for violation and/or towing of your vehicle at the owner's expense.

Parking ticket payments are processed through the Treasurer & Collector of Taxesand can also be paid online. For more information related to parking ticket payments and appeals, please visit the Parking Administration's Parking Ticket Payment & Appeals web page.

Alert Notifications

GoLocal will be posting all parking bans to http://www.GoLocalWorcester.com and posting it to our Facebook page and tweeting it.

According to the City of Worcester, all alerts will be sent as soon as possible once the Declared Ban goes into effect.

To receive text alerts once a Parking Ban goes into effect, you may "Fast Follow" Public Works & Park's Parking Ban Twitter page even if you don't have a Twitter account yourself. Simply text the phrase, "follow snowparkingban" to40404 via your cell phone and you will receive the latest Tweets directly to your cell phone with important and timely Parking Ban information (standard text messaging rates apply). To stop receiving these Tweets, text the phrase, "leave snowparkingban" to 40404.

Alternatively, you may sign-up for the City's emergency notification system, which enables the City to provide you with critical information quickly in a variety of situations and allows residents to choose where and how they are notified. Sign-up for ALERTWorcester now!

Please be advised that this is an additional service to be alerted about a Winter Parking Ban going into effect. The official source to check for the winter parking ban is always (508) 929-1300.

Related Slideshow: Top 10 Blizzards in MA History

Prev Next

10. Blizzard of 2006

Max Accumulation: Approximately 22"

February 11-13, 2006

Arriving on the evening of Feb. 13, this Nor’easter resulted in heavy snow, coastal flooding and a storm surge in Massachusetts. Wilbraham was the hardest hit area receiving more than 22 inches of snow.

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9. Blizzard of 2010

Max Accumulation: Approximately 24"

December 22-29, 2010

This historic blizzard brought as much as two feet of snow to parts of Massachusetts and caused Boston to declare a State of Emergency.

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8. Winter Storm Nemo

Max Accumulation: Approximately 25"

February 7-18, 2013

Total snowfall in Boston reached nearly 25 inches, making it the fifth-highest total ever recorded in the city.

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7. 1969 Nor’easter

Max Accumulation: Approximately 26"

February 8-10, 1969

This storm blanketed many parts of Massachusetts with upwards of 20 inches of snow, including 26.3 in Boston.

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6. Blizzard of 2003

Max Accumulation: Approximately 27.5"

February 14-19, 2013

Know as the President’s Day Storm II, this blizzard brought a record-setting 27.5 inches of snow to Boston.

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5. Blizzard of 1996

Max Accumulation: Approximately 30"

Jan. 6-10, 1996

One of two blizzards to receive an “extreme” rating on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale, this storm blanketing parts of Western Massachusetts with upwards of 30 inches of snow.

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4. Blizzard of 1978

Max Accumulation: Approximately 32"

February 5-7, 1978

This historic nor’easter brought a then-record 27.1 inches of snowfall to Boston and over 32 inches to Rockport. Additionally, the storm killed 73 Bay State residents.

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3. April Fool's Day Blizzard

Max Accumulation: Approximately 33"

March 30 to April 1, 1997

This blizzard was no joke, dropping a record-breaking 33 inches on Worcester.

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2. Blizzard of 2005

Max Accumulation: Approximately 40"

January 20-23, 2005

This three-day storm delivered more than 40 inches of snow in Mashpee, Massachusetts, one of the hardest hit areas. Some portions of Massachusetts reported 6 foot snow drifts.

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1. Great Blizzard of 1888

Max Accumulation: Approximately 50"

March 11-14, 1888

One of the most severe recorded blizzards in the history of the United States, this superstorm dumped as much as 50 inches of snow in parts of Massachusetts.