Jamaica Plain awoke this morning to more than 21 inches of snow on the ground after a massive blizzard with winds up to 45 m.p.h. hit the neighborhood yesterday afternoon and overnight.
Cars were entombed, most businesses remained closed, and everything was coated in a white glaze of wind-sprayed ice and flakes. The winds caused the snow to drift much deeper than 21 inches in many places. According to the National Weather Service, a weather spotter in Jamaica Plain reported an unofficial snowfall total in the neighborhood of 25.5 inches. Either way, it is one of the largest snowfalls ever recorded in Boston.
With a state road travel ban in effect for most of the day, few cars were on the streets except for snowplows and emergency vehicles. Pedestrians walked down JP’s snowy, desolate roadways. Sledders, skiers and snowshoers abounded.
Guys with shovels were getting $50 to clean a short stretch of sidewalk on Perkins Street. The Hyde Square 7-Eleven was a favorite break-time hangout for snowplow drivers and police officers.
The state road travel ban ends at 4 p.m. today, but no one should drive unless absolutely necessary. Many roads remain hazardous and the cleanup is still under way. The City of Boston’s parking ban on major roads remains in effect until further notice. For a full list, see cityofboston.gov/snow. All MBTA public transit service remains halted today.
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- (Gazette Photo by John Ruch) A woman skis down Perkins Street on Feb. 9 after a historic snowstorm.
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- A snowman stands in the Hyde Square rotary at Centre and Perkins streets on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- A sledder enjoys the snow at Jamaica Pond Park on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- A man rides an inner tube down a snowy slope at Jamaica Pond Park on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- A snowblower bites off more than it can chew with more than 21 inches of snow on the ground on St. Joseph Street. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- Side-view mirrors are the only signs that cars are under these piles of snow on Greenough Avenue on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- The snowy Southwest Corridor Park along Amory Street on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- A man and a little girl tow a sled up the empty Jamaicaway on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- Pedestrians make their way down an empty Centre Street in central JP on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- This police car is going nowhere soon after being snowed in across from the District E-13 Police Station on Washington Street. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- Idle MBTA buses are lined up and prepping to return to service at the Arborway Yard on Washington Street on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- Snow frosts a tree and one of the buildings at the Bromley-Heath housing development on Centre Street in Jackson Square on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- Blizzard-driven ice nearly covers the sign welcoming visitors to Egleston Square at Washington Street and Columbus Avenue on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- Heavy snow outlines tree branches on New Washington Street in Forest Hills on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)
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- Plow drivers and police stop for refeshments at the 7-Eleven at S. Huntington Avenue and Centre Street in Canary Square on Feb. 9. (Gazette Photo by John Ruch)