South Shore storm crews prepare 'for the worst' - more than 2 feet of snow, flooding

QUINCY — An impressive nor'easter forecast for Saturday could bring upwards of 2 feet of snow and strong winds to the South Shore starting late Friday night.

Harvey Leonard, chief meteorologist for WCVB, said earlier this week that the storm will likely begin Friday evening or early Saturday morning. The runt of the storm will hit from noon to Saturday evening.

"It should pretty much all be in the form of snow," Leonard said.

Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch said Friday morning that the city is in full-on storm prep mode. There will be upwards of 150 pieces of snow removal equipment on the roads starting around midnight Friday and continuing into Sunday.

"The problem with narrow streets and 24 to 30 inches of snow is that you just run out of places to put it," Koch said. "We will be working to clear the roads and will have to do some removal, that's for sure."

Koch said school administrators would be keeping a watchful eye on roads and side walks, and will make a decision Sunday on whether or not school will take place Monday.

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A winter storm watch issued by the National Weather Service for Friday night to Saturday night says winds could gust as high as 60 mph.

"Travel could be very difficult to impossible," the service said. "Strong winds could cause tree damage."

The National Weather Service's latest predictions for Quincy put snow fall between 2 and 4 inches late Friday into early Saturday, with another 15 to 23 inches Saturday. Wind chill will bring temperatures to as low as -5 degrees Saturday night.

Leonard said he wasn't ready to "put an upper limit" on the amount of snow communities could receive this weekend.

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Weymouth Department of Public Works Director Kenan Connell said Thursday plow crews are preparing “for the worst.”

“It’s hard to plan when you don’t know what is coming, so we plan for the worst," he said. "After a couple of inches fall, we are out in full force."

Wind, combined with an astronomically high tide this weekend, could lead to flooding along the coast. If the storm comes close enough and intensifies just right, coastal flooding could be a problem with the high tides Saturday morning, Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

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“The tide that's the highest is coming up Saturday morning, and that high tide is about 10.5 feet in Boston at 8 a.m.," Storm Team 5 Meteorologist Cindy Fitzgibbon said. “The tide at 9 p.m. is a little lower, but we could have flooding at both tides.”

Weymouth Fire Chief Keith Stark said firefighters had prepared fire trucks to respond to potential flooding and other storm-related issues.

"All fire chiefs will be meeting with National Grid on Friday," he said. "We will be reviewing what phone numbers to call when there are power outages. We do that to make sure we are on the same page. (The storm) will be an all day event. Hopefully, it will go out to sea."

The temperature shouldn't raise above freezing on Sunday, and heavy snow isn't expected to melt until early next week as temperatures gradually rise above freezing.

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Watching out for heavy snow accumulation on roofs would be prudent, Leonard said. Heavy, wet snow combined with strong winds could also be problematic, where the storm could bring down trees or cause power outages with its hurricane-force gusts, he said.

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Wicked Local reporter Ed Baker contributed to this report. Reach Alex Weliever at aweliever@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: South Shore braces for snow, strong winds 'all day' winter storm