Epic three-day snowstorm wallops winter-weary Northeast

An epic multiday snowstorm that has been steadily burying New England since Saturday night could dump a total of two feet of snow on the already inundated Northeast by Tuesday morning.

This is the third major winter storm to hit the region in the past two weeks, and many communities are struggling to contend with record snow accumulation. 

Boston has been hit with around 66 inches of snow this winter, most of which has fallen over the past two weeks. Officials at the National Weather Service believe that this winter could soon be considered one of the snowiest on record.

Boston is already in the midst of the snowiest 30-day period in the city’s history.

The snowfall is expected to persist until Tuesday morning, and many New England schools will be closed for the second consecutive day.

Meanwhile, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is notably exasperated by this winter’s weather.

"I'm frustrated. The last thing I want to be talking about is another 24 inches of snow. I want to move on to something else," Mayor Walsh told reporters during a briefing Sunday at Boston City Hall. “We've never seen this type of snow in the city of Boston at any other time in the history of our city.”

Much of the region's mass-transit is operating at a limited capacity, leading many to cancel work and travel plans.

The majority of flights from Boston’s Logan International Airport were canceled Monday morning, and more than 2,000 flights have been cancelled across the United States. Most of the cancelled flights were departing from cities across the northeast, according to the site FlightAware. The Amtrak national rail service also canceled many of its passenger train services in upstate New York due to the storm.

Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s aging trains have been adversely affected by the intense cold and heavy snow, leading to sluggish services throughout the past week. 

In Quincy, just south of Boston, a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority train stalled between stations. Almost 50 commuters had to be rescued from the train on Monday after being stuck inside for more than two hours.

Walsh issued another snow emergency in Boston on Sunday and banned cars from parking in the streets. Parked cars were ticketed and towed to make room for the snowplows in their attempt to clear the roads.

In the meantime, drivers have been warned to stay off of the roads as much as possible to avoid accidents and to allow crews to clean up as much snow as possible.

State workers have already removed enough snow from roadways this month to fill Foxboro's Gillette Stadium 90 times over, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker told reporters Monday morning. 

The governor was reluctant to discuss how much this winter's snow removal could end up costing the state, saying that the number one priority has to be public safety, according to a local CBS affiliate. Currently, Boston’s entire $18 million budget for snow removal has been spent.

"This is pretty much unprecedented," Governor Baker said. "We're just going to manage our way through it."

This report includes material from the Associated Press.