BOSTON — After cold and snow that set February records, southern New England entered March with another round that could push Boston over its 20-year-old snowfall record.
With 102 inches, Boston needs 5.7 more to break the 1995-1996 record of 107.6.
Snowfall of 4 to 6 inches was expected by early Monday across the area, with up to 8 inches in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Less snow is expected in northern Massachusetts and New York state, and on Cape Cod.
“We have come this far, we might as well break the record,” said William Babcock, National Weather Service meteorologist in the Taunton, Massachusetts office. “We have a couple of storms to push us over the record. Once that is done we won’t complain if we don’t get any more snow.”
Since it’s early March, “we still have plenty of time,” he said.
The snow Sunday into Monday will be wetter than those earlier in the season, continuing the concern about potential roof collapses.
PHOTOS: Late-winter storms spread across areas of Southwest
“If you have flat roofs, it is certainly going to add to the weight,” Babcock said.
Elsewhere, heavy snow was expected in the central Rockies and Great Basin and heavy rain was predicted in parts of the Southwest. Snow was falling from the Ohio Valley into the Northeast, with freezing rain in the Mid-Atlantic.
RECORD COLD
February 2015 was one for the record books in the Northeast.
The Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University says Buffalo, Syracuse, Binghamton and Ithaca, New York, shivered through their coldest months ever.
The average temperature was 10.9 degrees in Buffalo, beating the 1934 record of 11.4. The monthly average was 9.0 in Syracuse, 12.2 in Binghamton and 10.2 in Ithaca.
February record lows were also set in Hartford, Connecticut, at 16.1; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at 20.9; and Portland, Maine at 13.8.
BLIZZARD, AVALANCHE WARNINGS
Weather forecasters in Colorado issued blizzard and avalanche warnings as Pacific moisture continued to bring snow and strong winds to the Continental Divide on Sunday. The storm was expected to last through Monday, with another storm expected Tuesday. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for Wolf Creek Pass and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued avalanche warnings for the South San Juan, Sangre de Cristo and Gunnison areas. The avalanche danger in southern Colorado has been increased to high.
MISSOURI DEATHS
Authorities reported three people, including one child, died in weather-related incidents in Missouri.
Two people were killed when a driver lost control on a snow-covered highway in Lebanon on Saturday when the car skidded into a tractor-trailer stopped because of an earlier crash on Interstate 44. The 20-year-old driver survived, but both passengers were ejected and killed.
In Nevada, Missouri, a boy died after falling through an ice-covered farm pond. Emergency crews rushed to the scene Saturday morning after a caller said three children were in the pond, according to fire officials. A bystander pulled one boy from the pond, and another boy was able to get out on his own, The Joplin Globe reported.
Illinois and Indiana got 8 inches or more of snow Sunday from the same weather system.
MICHIGAN TOT HOSPITALIZED
A 3-year-old Lansing, Michigan, girl was hospitalized in critical condition after getting stuck overnight outside her family’s apartment during frigid weather that marked the end of one of the coldest Februaries on record in Michigan.
According to police, the girl was treated for severe hypothermia. A relative found the girl on a sidewalk in front of the apartment complex about 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Lansing police Sgt. Joe Brown told the Lansing State Journal. The temperature was 5 degrees at the time.
CALIFORNIA STORM
Crews worked to clean up a mudslide that shut down a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway northwest of Los Angeles early Sunday. The area received between a quarter-inch to half an inch of rain overnight, the weather service said. The threat of showers will linger until Monday morning when the cold low-pressure system moves out.
MARATHON CANCELED
Winter weather over the last few days in North Texas prompted organizers of the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth to cancel the race. The marathon, along with a 50K ultra marathon - both of which had been set for Sunday -were canceled. The half marathon, however, was held Sunday morning.
Heidi Swartz, Cowtown executive director, said the safety of runners, volunteers and spectators was the top priority.
SNOW DELAY FOR HERNANDEZ
The weather is again delaying the murder trial of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez.
The court has delayed Monday’s start until 10:15 a.m. There already have been 5.5 snow days since jury selection began in the trial Jan. 9.
Hernandez is charged with the 2013 killing of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd, who was dating his fiancée’s sister.
TRUCK FALLS THROUGH ICE
A pickup truck drove onto a frozen river in New Jersey early Sunday, spun around repeatedly and then plunged through the ice, police said, and rescue teams found a dead dog but no people inside.
Later, the driver, who owned the dog, and a passenger turned themselves in, state police said. They were in custody and were being questioned, but police had not said whether they would face criminal charges including for the death of the dog, which apparently drowned.
The passenger had gotten out of the truck just before the driver took it out onto the ice, police said.
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