BOSTON — Winter-weary residents of the Northeast U.S. braced Sunday for another round of snow bearing down on the region with up to 2 feet (60 centimeters) expected in some areas.
As light snow fell by the afternoon, drivers were warned to stay off the roads and cancellations were posted for schools and court dockets Monday.
The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for parts of l New York state and much of the northeastern New England states through early Tuesday.
"I'm frustrated. The last thing I want to be talking about is another 24 inches (60 centimeters) of snow. I want to move on to something else," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said at City Hall. "It's unprecedented ... Maybe up in Alaska or Buffalo, they have this amount of snow and they're used to it."
Walsh said the city would close schools on Monday and Tuesday, and he urged motorists to stay off the roads until the storm passes. Court closings Monday meant another weather-related delay in jury selection in the Boston Marathon bombing trial and in the murder trial in Fall River, Massachusetts of former Boston Patriots football star Aaron Hernandez.
The snow is likely to cause problems for commuters on Monday, though it's not expected to accumulate as rapidly as in some of the earlier storms, including a record-busting late January blizzard. There also is little risk seen of significant coastal flooding, a problem during last month's winter blasts.
Boston's transit system, the nation's oldest, has been particularly hard hit this winter. The buildup of snow and ice on trolley tracks combined with aging equipment has stalled trains, delaying and angering commuters. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker acknowledged last week the MBTA was handed an extraordinary situation with old equipment but said the system's overall performance was unacceptable.
Over the weekend, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said crews were doing everything they could, including deploying massive jet-powered snow blowers, to clear tracks before the storm. Baker said Boston's subway lines will operate on an abbreviated schedule Monday and he encouraged residents to work from home and avoid travel.
Boston's Logan International Airport will be allowing only a limited amount of flights to arrive and depart Monday so travelers should check with their airlines, Baker said. State offices will be closed Monday, with only emergency workers required to report for duty.
Baker said the "cumulative" impact of the storm is a major challenge, as parts of Massachusetts have already seen over 60 inches (150 centimeters) of snowfall over two weeks.
In many New England communities, the obvious problem is where to put the new snowfall.
David Lombari, public works director for West Warwick, Rhode Island, told the Providence Journal his town was already clogged with snow piles several feet high and school buses were parked in the usual snow storage lot.
Adding injury to insult perhaps, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency warned that potentially record cold temperatures and wind chills are expected to move into the region later in the week after the storm.
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Associated Press radio correspondent Julie Walker in New York City and writer Mary Esch in Albany contributed to this report.