BOSTON - Bursts of bitterly cold wind rushed through the streets of Boston on Sunday morning as a fresh layer of snow blanketed the city.
Many streets in Boston were already lined with three-four foot snow barriers after weeks of storms, and an overnight blizzard has already dumped about another foot on some parts of the city, according to Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, who spoke at a press conference on Sunday morning. Hurricane-strength winds are expected along the coast, and 30 mile-per-hour wind is already whipping through parts of downtown. Gusts of wind instantly turn the air from cold to frigid.
"This is historic," Walsh said. "We've never seen this type of snow in this type of period in the history of the city."
It's official, Boston has reached its snowiest month on record with 45.5 total inches. The old record was 43.3 in January 2005.— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) February 15, 2015
The MBTA shut down buses and subway trains on Sunday. Boston officials have implemented an emergency traffic plan, turning some two-way streets into one-way roads, and the city has been under a parking ban since Saturday night. Walsh said it is not safe to drive in the city on Sunday, and asked that people stay in their homes unless it is absolutely necessary to venture outside.
Dangerously low wind chills and damaging wind gusts were expected to be the most dangerous aspect of this latest blizzard, and the frigid gusts have so far seemed to live up to the hype.
According to the latest update from the National Weather Service, Boston got 13 inches of new snow; Milton reported 21 inches and Foxboro reported 15.6 inches.
With the latest storm Boston has now been hit with 89.7 inches of snow for the season, making this No. 3 on the all-time seasonal list. The record is 107.6 inches in 1995-96, and that's within reach now.
A few cars here and there are slowly snaking and sliding their way through the streets, though visibility is bad and a few roads are choked by snow drifts.
Workers have been out all night into the morning shoveling the sidewalks and plowing the streets, trying to make travel at least somewhat manageable while snow continues to fall.
Workers have even managed to shovel out some paths inside of parks, though many walkways are now buried in enough snow to make them impossible to walk through without burying your boots in snow.
The MBTA is expected to make a decision on Sunday about whether to reopen public transportation on Monday.
Andrew Freedman contributed reporting to this article.