WESTFORD — Over 15 inches of snow fell in Westford after a powerful winter storm hit Massachusetts on Sunday, with snowfall continuing into Monday evening.
According to the National Weather Service in Boston/Norton, 15.5 inches of snow was recorded on the ground in Westford around 6:30 a.m. Monday as a result of the storm, which dropped 1-2 inches of snow per hour between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. Sunday, with many communities across Massachusetts recording nearly two feet of snow.
Due to the heavy snow, all Westford town offices, municipal facilities and Westford Public Schools were closed on Monday, with the Westford Recreation Department’s After School Program also canceled.
Additionally, the Westford Emergency Management provided winter storm safety tips from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency on Friday to help residents stay safe and prepare for the storm.
The snow began around 7 a.m. Sunday, increasing in intensity around noon. The heaviest snow began falling around 3 p.m. Sunday and continued until just after midnight.
Light to moderate snow then lingered throughout the day on Monday, before finally tapering off Monday evening.
Slick and hazardous conditions were reported on roads, bridges and overpasses on Sunday and Monday morning, with visibilities dropping to as low as a quarter mile at times.
Many commuters also dealt with a messy and difficult morning drive on Monday, as plows attempted to keep up with the ongoing snowfall.
The snow came as part of a large winter storm that was moving across the U.S., with heavy snow reported across much of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and parts of the Southeast, as well as freezing rain and ice storms reported in areas across the Deep South.
Sunday and Monday’s snowfall came after Arctic air brought bitterly cold temperatures to Massachusetts on Friday night and Saturday, with temperatures as low as 2 °F recorded in Westford. Westford’s J.V. Fletcher Library was opened as a warming center between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, to help residents keep warm and stay out of the cold.
The winter storm on Sunday and Monday came just a week after back-to-back snowstorms hit Massachusetts the weekend before, which dropped around four inches of snow in Westford and even more in other parts of the state, prompting the NWS to issue two winter weather advisories.
Although clear skies are expected to return on Tuesday and continue through the rest of the week, the NWS is forecasting another coastal storm that may bring more snow to Massachusetts this coming Sunday.
