A powerful nor’easter is making its way through Gloucester, MA, this weekend. And it’s causing epic blizzard-like conditions. But it’s nothing that a nice glass of whiskey can’t fix.
At least, that’s how a local lobster fisherman named Steve Murray feels.
“I think I’m hunkering down, charging my phone, and getting a good glass of whiskey ready,” Murray told Fox News ahead of the storm.
But that doesn’t mean that he’s not preparing for the weather. Gloucester residents are used to snow, but this event looks to be huge even for them.
On Friday, the Weather Prediction Center predicted that the heaviest part of the storm will likely “fall across a swath extending from the Eastern Shore of Maryland up through most of Maine, where 6-12 inches are likely.”
It also added that “parts of coastal New England, where blizzard conditions are forecast, may see between 1-2 feet of snow with locally higher amounts possible, specifically over coastal Massachusetts.”
So Murray has some preparations to do before the flakes start falling. He’s just not concerned enough to let it ruin his weekend.
“We usually come down mid-storm, and we will check on the boat, make sure all the lines are good, tie them up right,” Murray shared. “A lot of preparations and not a lot of worrying, but a little that goes with it.”
Businesses Are Preparing to Stay Open as the Nor’easter Travels Through New England
The historic fishing port has had its fair share of extreme weather in the past. Because of that, the locals have become used to power outages and supply issues. So the residents have learned to be proactive before bad weather hits.
“I think we are gonna be buried,” said Eleanor Tucker, who owns Mom’s Kitchen. “This is a lot of snow we are gonna be getting. Hopefully, it’s not going to flood over this way.”
But since they all have procedures in place to deal with massive snowfalls, Glouchester doesn’t have to shut down because of the weather.
“We are preparing here,” Tucker continued. “We got our snowblower, we got our snowplow guy … so we plan on being open. I know it’s going to be a lot, but we will be OK.”
The first part of the Nor’easter hit the area earlier today. So far, nearly 120k people are already out of power. And because Gloucester is currently seeing 68 mph wind gusts, they expect more outages before the storm is over.
The brunt of the weather should end by early Sunday morning. But until then, officials are warning residents to stay home as there is almost no visibility on roadways.
