Nor’easter Advisory #3

SCITUATE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

January 28, 2022

January Nor’easter Advisory #3

Good afternoon,

We continue to monitor the Nor’easter that is forecast to impact our area with snow starting before midnight tonight and lasting through Saturday evening, snow fall could exceed 2’ with blizzard conditions through most of the day Saturday. With the heavy snow and potential blizzard conditions, travel will be extremely difficult so try to plan ahead by getting your errands and needs done by today. We are strongly encouraging everyone to stay home Saturday and Saturday night and allow our emergency management, public safety, and DPW workers to do our jobs.

The current forecast still calls for winds to be steady northeast 35-40mph with gusts that could exceed 60mph. If gusts exceed 60 mph expect tree and limb damage which would likely cause isolated to scattered power outages. If you see downed power lines please stay clear and call the Fire Dept. (911), National Grid for any power issues at 800-465-1212, and Eversource in Humarock at 800-286-2000.

We have been coordinating with all of our utility companies for emergency response and an efficient recovery. National Grid and Eversource are preparing for a type 3 event which could take up to 72 hours for full power restoration. Be prepared for power outages. See the attached emergency plan guideline for additional storm preparation guidance.

We anticipate some splash over with the 8am high tide Saturday and 9am Sunday tide but there is the potential for minor to moderate flooding with the 9pm high tide Saturday evening. Please move your vehicles from the flood prone areas by Friday evening.

EMERGENCY PARKING BAN

Effective Saturday, January 29^th at 12:00 am through Sunday, January 30^th, 2022 at 6:00 pm, an emergency parking ban will be in effect on all public roadways within the Town of Scituate to allow for the safe and efficient clearing of snow.  Vehicles parked in temporarily prohibited locations may be towed, at their expense, under the direction of the Scituate Police Department.

Residents living in low lying areas or areas affected by the parking ban may temporarily relocate their personal vehicles for the duration of this emergency event to the following locations:

• Barker Tavern Restaurant, 21 Barker Road
• WPA Field House Lot in North Scituate, 7-19 Henry Turner Bailey Road
• Humarock Public Beach Parking Lot, River St @ Harvard St.

Owners/operators relocating their vehicles at their own risk and should monitor storm conditions to ensure the safety of their vehicles.

Owners/operators should not relocate vehicles to the Cole Parkway Municipal Lot due to flooding concerns and to allow for Scituate DPW crews access for snow removal.

We continue to strongly encourage our waterfront coastal residents to consider relocating to a hotel or friend’s home for this storm. If evacuating please get this done tonight or at the latest by 6am Saturday, two hours before high tide. The local hotel list is included with the attached storm guideline. If evacuating, please click here: “I am Evacuating”. This gives emergency personnel vital information when called to an emergency or well being check. Please see the link below.

Please fuel your vehicles today and It would be wise to fuel and start your generators early and make sure you place them in a safe location to eliminate any exhaust getting into your home. 

We held a successful sandbag distribution this morning at St. Mary’s parking lot. The Transfer Station will be closed on Saturday and Sunday, try to get there today if possible. All non-essential Town buildings will be closed over the weekend due to the elevated snow amounts and potential power issues.

We encourage everyone who has not done so to sign up for “CODE RED”  on our Town Emergency website. Any essential emergency information will be sent through this app. Please include both your home and cell numbers and include the texting option.

This is going to be a very strong and challenging storm but with common sense and trust in your Public Safety and Emergency Management Team we will get through this storm as we always do.

Be prepared and Stay Safe!