Massachusetts digs out after large snow storm

The late winter storm hit the hardest in the early morning hours of Monday. It dumped more than a foot of fresh snow on a large swath of New England, hitting some areas that had gotten off relatively unscathed for most of the season.

Arlington (Massachusetts): Massachusetts residents used shovels and snow blowers to dig out of one of the biggest snow storms of the season that dumped more than a foot of precipitation in parts of the northeastern US overnight.

The late winter storm hit the hardest in the early morning hours of Monday. It dumped more than a foot of fresh snow on a large swath of New England, hitting some areas that had gotten off relatively unscathed for most of the season.

Michael Raab of Arlington, Massachusetts, found himself clearing up his driveway early Monday; his children at home after schools were closed.

"We've been waiting a whole winter and it finally came. So, the kids were happy there is a snow day," Raab said.

The amount of snow also caught stay-at-home-mom Tracey Scatterday by surprise.

Scatterday said forecasts showed only five to eight inches of snow were expected, but measurements showed the storm dumped about 15 inches of precipitation.

New Englanders have grown accustomed in recent years to seeing winter start slowly and linger past its welcome.

"We're kind of used to it by now," said Scatterday. "I feel like March is our month now for snow."

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker cautioned anyone out on the road to be careful as temperatures first rise and snow melts, but then as they again dip.

In New England, nearly 60,000 customers were without power at the storm's peak, though many of those had their power restored by Monday afternoon.

In the Boston suburb of Needham, a snowplow struck a gas meter at an assisted living complex Monday morning, triggering a gas leak and forcing more than 100 elderly residents to evacuate. No injuries were reported, and residents were able to return after a few hours.

(With inputs from APTN)