Boston snowfall total about 5 inches, residents warned of ‘slick roads’ in upcoming freezing weather

The Boston area got just about 5 inches of snowfall following the winter storm Sunday night into Monday morning, according to National Weather Service reports.

“It was a little bit under what was expected,” said NWS meteorologist Bryce Williams on Monday. “Our final forecast was in the 6 to 8 inch range, and Boston’s total amount came in a little under, with 5 inches at the official observing site. We did have several 6-plus inch reports in the Greater Boston area to the south and west, but for the official Boston observation, it was a little bit under.”

The snowstorm, which swept across the New England region, began in the Boston region after sunset Sunday evening as the rainfall began to freeze and continued through around 7 a.m. Monday morning.

The City of Boston announced they would not declare a snow emergency or parking ban, and Public Works stated they had “600+ pieces treating and clearing” the roads as of around 9 p.m. Sunday.

In other areas of Massachusetts, generally most regions saw 4 to 6 inches of new snowfall from the storm, Williams said.

“We saw widespread 4 to 6 inch mounts,” said Williams. “Further into the northwest of Massachusetts and north central, we did see some 7 to 8 inch totals, especially in the Berkshires and Worcester hills. But for most people, it was a 4 to 6 inch snowfall, tapering down to a couple of inches towards the Cape Cod canal and less than an inch on Cape Cod.”

Following the storm, areas throughout the region are expected to be hit with a period of extreme cold temperatures, NWS forecasts. In Boston, forecasts show highs in the low 20s and high teens through Wednesday.

Lows in Boston are expected to reach 8 degrees Tuesday night and 10 degrees Wednesday, NWS forecasts show. Windchill is expected to dip into the negatives during the cold snap, with the coldest value of -7 degrees expected Wednesday.

“Something to look out for is the slick roads, if they are not treated, because we’re going into a period of very cold temperatures where we’re not going to be above freezing for a while,” said Williams. … “It already likely has frozen up and will further solidify as we go into the overnight hours and continue really through Wednesday night. We don’t start to warm up until Thursday, when we’ll finally get highs back in the low to mid 30s.”

Boston officials reminded residents to “clear snow from sidewalks, ramps, and entrances before it freezes to avoid dangerous conditions” and urged people to report unshoveled sidewalks to 311 in an X post Monday.