It’s the biggest storm of the season so far in parts of Massachusetts, and there were mixed emotions Sunday night as officials encouraged drivers to stay off the roads.
“I hate snow,” Leominster resident Michelle Feliciano said. “I hate the cold, I hate everything about it.”
“It’s kind of fun,” said Lucas DeOliveira, who was among the many loading up on a sand-salt mix at the Leominster DPW yard.
It’s free and drew a crowd in Leominster, where snow was coming down hard.
“I have my own property,” said Leominster resident Dawn Eringi. “My own little house, just got to make sure that driveway has got that salt. “I have a couple people that live in my in-law unit, so make sure they’re safe, one of them’s disabled.”
The city started pre-treating the main roads around 1 o’clock Sunday afternoon.
When the snow began to build up, city and private crews headed to the streets – about 100 plows in all.
“Go home,” said Scott Martini of the Leominster Department of Public Works. “Enjoy the weather from home, stay off the roads, and stay out of our way if possible, that’s the best bet.”
AAA also encouraged people to stay home as much as possible, but if you do have to go out, remember the basics.
“A lot of the crashes we see people are driving as if the conditions are fine,” said Mark Schieldrop of AAA Northeast. “You need a lot more room to stop when there’s snow on the road.”
See winter storm warnings in your area here and track the storm with live radar here:
The City of Boston was also seeing its first significant snowfall of the season Sunday night, though that didn’t stop some people from grabbing Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Snow plows were busy clearing the city’s streets, but there was plenty of snow on Boston Common where people were finding ways to have fun from snowball fights to building snowmen named “Ronald.”
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