Update: Lexington Public Schools cancelled school tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 24.
Puxatawney Phil was not kidding when he saw his shadow on Feb. 2 and decided we would experience six more weeks of winter weather.
At the end of January, we experienced “Snowmageddon.” The children got a snow day, cars parked outside were buried under seemingly endless blankets of snow, and temperatures stayed below freezing for weeks after — cementing snow and ice in place.
This morning, Lexington residents awoke to deja vu. School is cancelled today and blizzard-like conditions have already brought several inches of snow and whipping winds to eastern Massachusetts. About 500 Eversource customers in Lexington were without power, mostly due to down tree limbs, on Monday morning.
The National Weather Service predicted this storm will continue into Tuesday morning. When all is said and done, Lexington is estimated to get about 14 to 21 inches of snow and could experience wind gusts of up to 75 miles per hour.
Lexpress will not run on Monday, all non-emergency town offices and buildings (the Town Office Building, Community Center, Cary Memorial Library, Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, and the Visitors Center) are closed on Monday, and tonight’s Select Board meeting will be fully remote with no in-person attendance option.
There is no curbside collection of trash, recycling, or compost on Monday — collection schedules are anticipated to resume on Tuesday on a one-day delay.
As for the roads, the state and town are working on it. There is a town-wide parking ban until Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. That ban applies to all streets and public parking lots.
Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency on Sunday and called for residents to stay off the roads. She deployed the National Guard to help first responders.
“It is critical that people stay off the roads tonight and tomorrow,” Healey said in a press release. “Our teams are working hard to prepare for this storm, and I thank the public works, plow drivers, first responders and everyone who is out there keeping people safe. We’re going to stay on top of conditions as they develop and will continue to provide updates as the storm progresses.”
Lexington’s Departments of Public Works (DPW) and Public Facilities (DPF) are working to keep roads, sidewalks, and parking lots safe. DPW is responsible for plowing the parking lots and driveways of all school and municipal buildings. DPF is responsible for clearing the sidewalks and walkways.
Before the storm, the DPW pre-treated main and some sub-main roads with a brine solution.
DPW will prioritize clearing snow from main streets (Massachusetts Ave., Waltham St., Lowell St., and Woburn St.) first, sub-main roads are cleared second, and residential streets third.
The Town is not responsible for clearing every sidewalk. DPW aims to clear sidewalks designated as walking routes by Lexington Public Schools within 24 to 48 hours after the storm ends. Residential property owners are not required to clear snow or ice from the sidewalks adjacent to their property, but residents are strongly encouraged to maintain a walkable path for pedestrians, delivery services, and mail carriers around their property. Building owners or managers are responsible for sidewalk maintenance after the town completes its initial clearing.
If your property is damaged by a plow, you should report it to DPW immediately, the town states online. All reports received prior to May 1 will be addressed. Reports received after that date may not be prioritized.
If you have a snow-related emergency, call DPW’s emergency line at (781) 862-1618.
Whipping winds and buckets of snow engulfed Lexington yet again. School is closed Monday and Tuesday.
