The blizzard now bearing down on us could be deadly, and Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore tells the Herald Gov. Charlie Baker should shut down the highways, and keep the cars off the roads during the worst of it in the name of public safety.
“If people don’t do that, then we’re going to get into a horrible situation where people are going to get trapped on the roads, potentially, and nobody is going to be able to get to them,” Cantore said last night at Logan International Airport. “If there is two feet of snow on the roads and it’s piling up 2 or 3 inches an hour, and there’s no visibility, like I said, this is going to be a lot windier this storm … I think people are taking their lives into their own hands if they head out during this storm.”
Cantore, who chases big storms nationwide, is in Boston today for this one, which he likened to 2013’s destructive Nemo and even the legendary Blizzard of 1978. He flew in from Atlanta to make his debut on the Weather Channel’s “America’s Morning Headquarters.”
Cantore noted that in 2013, then-Gov. Deval Patrick ordered all but emergency vehicles to stay off the roads in a move that potentially saved lives as the Hub was blanketed with about two feet of snow.
“The governor pretty much shut everything down, and kept people off the interstate at the time of the snow,” Cantore said. “A repeat performance of that would be a recipe for potential success.”
Cantore said the rapid snowfall, expected to start coming down at a furious pace tonight, is just one problem. Heavy winds — forecast at 70 mph on the Cape and the islands, will compound problems. Emergency officials have called the upcoming storm “a potentially historic and destructive winter storm and blizzard.”
Cantore plans to start reporting on the storm today from the Boston Common. He has a morning interview scheduled with Mayor Martin J. Walsh. Cantore said he’s looking forward to learning how Walsh and Baker will coordinate safety efforts.
Cantore’s storm-chasing reputation raised eyebrows on the flight from Atlanta. Molly Marascalco, 31, of Madison, Miss., said she recognized him and knew that meant trouble up ahead in Boston.
“When I got on the plane and saw him — it was not good. I almost de-planed,” Marascalco said.
Cantore, raised in Connecticut and Vermont, compared the incoming storm to the Blizzard of 1978 — his own foul weather “coming out party.” But, he said, “This is New England. … We’re a hearty bunch. Let’s get through it, and enjoy, hopefully, a Patriots win this weekend.”
