The unofficial start of summer is behind us, but Boston is still feeling the effects of a brutal winter that dumped record-breaking snow on the city.
The remains of massive snow piles, the dumping grounds for some of the 110.6 inches that fell on the city during winter 2014-2015, are still standing tall. The filthy piles are now a mixture of garbage, debris, and the very last of the winter's snow.
On Wednesday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh tweeted a photo of the Tide Street Snow Farm, the largest of the city's dumping grounds in South Boston. At the height of the winter, some of the towering snow mountains stood five stories tall.
Now, the dingy piles are a messy shadow of their former selves, but they're unlikely to melt completely until June.
Be sure to enjoy today's hot weather, because snow is still melting away at the Tide Street Snow Farm. pic.twitter.com/i2wH94XVKD— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) May 27, 2015
Temperatures in the city reached into the 80's on Wednesday, but the piles of dirty snow still lingered.
@universalhub To add to the "Boston Snow Farms on Memorial Day Weekend" scrapbook, here's Northern Ave. pic.twitter.com/11M34UlM6d— hillary (@_hillary) May 25, 2015
It’s May 26 and remains of the big snow pile in South Boston are still with us (photo via @jamiecragno): pic.twitter.com/SW89PWEbaO— Jess Bidgood (@jessbidgood) May 26, 2015
For those thinking it was not so bad, there is STILL snow melting here in Boston. Pile of snow/dirt dying #snow2015 pic.twitter.com/EjCrJTwyz3— ╚» Steven Tylerisms (@StevenTylerisms) May 27, 2015
The record breaking 2014-2015 winter was extremely costly for the city, and was described by one Bostonian as a "slow-motion natural disaster." Boston spent an estimated $40 million on snow removal, a figure more than double the budget of $18.5 million, according to the Boston Globe.
The total cost to the regional economy are likely to reach into the hundreds of millions due to lost workdays, snarled transportation routes and postponed construction projects, among other impacts.