Featured image: Snow piles left by plows after the 2015 blizzard in the Boston area. Photo: Fuhvah via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). File photo, not current conditions.
This storm center collects the official sources Boston-area residents need when snow, ice or a nor’easter is on the way. Bookmark it: it covers snow emergency declarations and parking bans by city, school closing lists, power outage maps, the National Weather Service forecast, MBTA storm service and warming centers. It is an evergreen page, so it does not report storm conditions itself. The live alerts box below pulls directly from the National Weather Service, and every other section links to the agency that makes the official call.
Current alerts
Live sources only. The Boston Report does not post its own storm status here. The box below loads active watches, warnings and advisories from the National Weather Service’s public alerts feed for Suffolk County (Boston, Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop), Southeast Middlesex (including Cambridge, Somerville, Malden, Medford and Newton), Central Middlesex (including Burlington, Woburn and Lexington) and Eastern Norfolk (including Brookline and Quincy). If it shows no alerts, none were active when it last checked.
Automatic feed: National Weather Service alerts for Suffolk, Southeast Middlesex, Central Middlesex and Eastern Norfolk counties
Source: NWS Boston/Norton via api.weather.gov, refreshed about every 10 minutes. Always confirm with the official NWS page.
For declarations that only cities can make, check these official pages directly:
- Boston snow emergency status: boston.gov/winter (the daily status box shows trash, street cleaning and parking meter changes)
- Cambridge: Cambridge Snow Center
- Somerville: somervillema.gov/snow
- Malden: Winter Parking and Snow Emergency Parking Locations
- Burlington: DPW Snow Plowing
- MBTA: mbta.com/alerts
Snow emergencies, parking bans and lots by town
Each city declares its own snow emergency, and the rules differ. A snow emergency in Boston does not trigger one in Cambridge, and the reverse is also true. Here is where cars can go, with links to our full season guides for each place.
| City or town | Where to park during an emergency | Full guide |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | Participating discounted garages open to eligible residents two hours before a declared emergency; main arteries are posted no-parking routes. | Boston 2026-27 guide and snow emergency parking rules |
| Cambridge | Residents with a permit park free in five garages: One Kendall Square, Green Street, CambridgeSide, 52 Oxford and First Street. | Cambridge calendar |
| Somerville | Even side of most streets or city-owned municipal lots (not school lots); Wards 6 and 7 residents can use Tufts’ Dowling Garage. | Somerville guide |
| Malden | Free school lots, including Beebe, Forestdale, Ferryway, Linden STEAM and Salemwood, plus the Malden High Holden Street back lot. | Malden guide |
| Burlington | A seasonal overnight on-street parking ban runs every night from Dec. 1, 2026, to April 1, 2027, whether or not it snows. | Burlington guide |
After a Boston emergency ends, space savers may stay out for up to 48 hours, according to the city, and they are banned in the South End and Bay Village. Boston property owners must clear sidewalks within three hours after snow stops (or three hours after sunrise for overnight snow), leaving a path at least 42 inches wide.
School closings
School districts make their own calls, usually early in the morning. The district’s own website, phone call or text is the final word. TV station lists are convenient for checking many districts at once.
- Boston Public Schools
- Cambridge Public Schools
- Somerville Public Schools
- Malden Public Schools
- Burlington Public Schools
- Public Schools of Brookline
- WBZ-TV (CBS Boston) school closings and delays
- WCVB Channel 5 closings
Private schools, colleges and many businesses also report to the TV lists, but a district that is missing from a list may simply not have reported yet.
Power outages
Report outages to your utility, not 911, unless there is a downed wire or another emergency. Stay at least 30 feet from any downed line and assume it is live.
- Eversource (most of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and many suburbs): outage map, outage reporting, 800-592-2000
- National Grid (Malden, parts of the North Shore and other communities): Massachusetts outage map, 800-322-3223. The company says the map updates about every five minutes and that a town’s estimated restoration time applies to the last customer restored there.
- Boston Water and Sewer Commission: 617-989-7000
Boston’s winter guide also warns about carbon monoxide: clear snow from car exhaust pipes and home heating vents, and never leave a child or pet in an idling car while you shovel.
Forecast and alerts from the National Weather Service
The National Weather Service office for Boston is based in Norton and issues the official watches and warnings for eastern Massachusetts. Its NWS Boston/Norton page has the regional forecast discussion, snowfall forecast maps and storm reports. For a point forecast, use the NWS forecast for downtown Boston and change the location to your address. The office’s public line, listed by the city, is 508-822-0634. Our Boston weather page has the everyday forecast.
MBTA storm service
The MBTA says street-level routes such as the Green Line and the Mattapan Trolley are the most likely to be delayed in heavy snow and ice. Trains may run at reduced speed or frequency, and service is occasionally replaced by shuttle buses. Buses may switch to a storm schedule, which the T describes as reduced service similar to Saturday, adjusted route by route. Some buses follow snow routes that avoid narrow streets and steep hills, and those detours are marked on each route’s PDF schedule. If the governor declares a state of emergency or travel ban, the T may cut service further.
Check the MBTA winter weather travel guide, the MBTA Go app and T-Alerts before you leave. Planned shutdowns this season are in our MBTA service changes and shutdowns guide.
Warming centers and heating help
When the mayor declares a snow emergency, Boston opens BCYF community centers as warming centers during their normal hours. Depending on the storm, only some centers may open, and the list is posted at boston.gov/bcyf. Other cities post warming locations on the snow pages linked above. Anywhere in Massachusetts, dial 2-1-1 or visit Mass 211 for shelter and warming information. For people without housing, Boston’s Emergency Shelter Commission is at 617-635-4507.
For help paying heating bills, the state’s Cold Relief line is 800-632-8175, and Boston-area households can contact ABCD at 617-357-6012. Renters should read our Boston heating rules guide.
Useful storm phone numbers
- Emergencies: 911
- Boston non-emergency services: 311
- Massachusetts road and traffic conditions: 511
- DCR storm desk (parkways such as Storrow Drive and the Jamaicaway): 617-626-4973
- MBTA customer support: 617-222-3200; Transit Police: 617-222-1212
Additional details
- Highways such as I-93 are plowed by MassDOT, and parkways by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, not by the city.
- This page is reviewed each winter. City rules for 2026-27 are summarized in the town guides linked above, which are updated as cities post new information.
Sources
- City of Boston: Managing Winter and Snow
- City of Boston 311: Snow Emergency Parking
- City of Cambridge: Snow Center
- City of Somerville: Snow
- City of Malden: Snow Emergency Parking Locations
- Town of Burlington: Snow Plowing
- National Weather Service Boston/Norton
- National Weather Service API (api.weather.gov alerts)
- MBTA: Winter Weather Travel Guide
- Eversource: Outage Map
- National Grid: Massachusetts Outage Map
- WBZ-TV: School Closings
- WCVB: Closings
- Mass 211