Boston, MA
Here’s why the Massachusetts snow forecast changed
BOSTON – From the beginning, the meteorologists at WBZ-TV in Boston had a bad feeling about the snow storm heading to Massachusetts Tuesday. The snowfall predictions took a major turn downwards from Sunday to Monday and many people want to know why.
Snow predictions early discussions
Here’s an example of what we were talking about behind the scenes over the weekend while trying to develop an accurate forecast of snowfall totals.
Saturday 1:21 p.m.
Text from Eric Fisher to me: “I dunno, just feels like a weird headfake storm to me”
Sunday 4:05 p.m.
Text from Eric Fisher to me: “Still feeling kind of leery of a late shift south”
Monday 12:47 a.m. on WBZ-TV News after the Super Bowl
Eric talking to David Wade and Lisa Hughes: “I’m a little worried it’s going to slip farther south; we will watch the trends tomorrow”
Granted some of these conversations were private, but we did try to caution our viewers about the uncertainty with this particular storm. Trust me, I know, in the end, many folks aren’t hanging on every word that is said on TV and most are just waiting for the snow forecast map.
Winter storms are like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike. This is a big part of what makes forecasting in New England so intriguing. You can literally do this job your entire life (see Barry Burbank, well over 40 years), and still have sleepless nights wondering if the atmosphere will behave as you predicted.
Contrary to popular belief, meteorologists don’t just go outside and stick their fingers in the air to determine the forecast. We rely on very complex weather models. These models are run on giant supercomputers capable of churning out quadrillions of calculations per second. Seriously! That’s 15 zeros!
Despite this insane amount of technology, in the end, the weather is still somewhat unpredictable. There are just too many moving parts. We are light years better at forecasting now than we were 10, 20, 30 years ago, but still far from perfect. We would love to be able to accurately predict how much snow your town is going to get four days in advance but that just isn’t possible. This is, after all, still a FORECAST. Things will change. Sometimes dramatically so.
What happened to the snow forecast in Boston
Over the weekend, you likely started seeing snowfall forecast maps popping up here, there and everywhere. By Sunday, most of the model guidance seemed to be converging on a storm track that would produce a widespread 6-to-12″ of snow across southern New England. However, with this storm, there was a very fine line between getting a whole bunch of snow and getting nothing. We knew that there would be some very intense snow bands that would produce 1-to-3″ per hour. If your town ended up underneath this banding, you were in for an intense 3-6 hours of snow. Just a few miles to the north, flurries.
Minor shift, major change in snow predictions
By Sunday night, and more so Monday morning, there was a minor shift in the model output. It appeared that the center of the storm may pass about 50 miles farther south that what was originally forecast. For a storm system several hundred miles across, 50 miles isn’t much. BUT, if those 50 miles just happen to be right over Massachusetts a minor shift becomes a MAJOR story. Shifting the highest snowfall totals (8-12″) 50 miles southward had a major impact of hundreds of thousands of people. For reference…50 miles (as the crow flies) in Massachusetts is like going from Lawrence to Plymouth or Boston to Falmouth.
So, much to the disappointment of some, and the delight of others, we made a significant change to our snowfall forecast Monday afternoon. Basically, everything was shifted about 25-50 miles south.
Unfortunately, many towns, schools and businesses had already chosen to make a decision to close on Tuesday, nearly 24 hours prior to the first flakes. I get it, you want to give folks as much notice as possible to find babysitters, change plans etc. Sure, occasionally you get a multi-day mega-blizzard, and the call is an easy one. Most of the time, however, making those calls a full day in advance is a dangerous proposition and NOT one that any meteorologist would recommend.
Part of me longs for the old days, when we would all wake up at 5 a.m. and flip on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 to hear whether school was canceled or not. Strange that back then, when communication was much more rudimentary, we waited until the last minute to make those decisions. Whereas now, when we can get the word out in seconds via text, robocall, social media etc, we make the calls way sooner.
At the end of nearly every blog I write, I urge everyone to stay tuned to updated forecasts. That isn’t just a throwaway line, we really mean it!
The atmosphere is a crazy place. A thunderstorm unexpectedly forming in Texas on Monday could start a chain reaction that leads to massive changes to Boston’s weather a few days later.
We know and respect that you all have busy lives with kids to care for and businesses to run. Our goal is to provide you with the most accurate information possible and, just as important, keeping you updated when changes occur.
Boston, MA
Major carsharing service shutting Boston office and laying off dozens of staff
The car-sharing company Zipcar will close its Boston headquarters, ending local operations in the place where it was founded.
Its owner, the car rental company Avis Budget Group, said it is “consolidating Zipcar’s headquarters” into its global home base in Northern New Jersey “as part of a broader effort to enhance Zipcar’s long-term operational effectiveness.”
“As a result, Zipcar will no longer maintain a separate corporate office in Boston,” a spokesperson for Avis Budget Group said Monday.
The company plans to lay off 65 employees in Boston by April, according to a notice it filed with Massachusetts state officials last week.
Zipcar was founded in Cambridge in 1999 and debuted there and in Boston the next year. The company expanded in the years that followed and by 2009 was the world’s largest car-sharing service, according to NBC News. Avis bought Zipcar in 2013.
“Zipcar was founded in Boston and the city has been an important part of its history since then,” the company spokesperson said. “This consolidation reinforces Zipcar’s foundation and positions the business to continue serving members reliably well into the future.”
The move will not affect service for Zipcar’s members, the spokesperson added.
In addition to the 65 Boston-based employees, the company will lay off approximately 61 remote workers elsewhere in the country, the Boston Business Journal reported.
Zipcar’s regional field and fleet operations teams will remain in Boston and other cities after the headquarters closes “to support members and day-to-day service without interruption,” the Avis spokesperson said.
Brian Shortsleeve, a Republican candidate for governor, said Zipcar’s move was the result of Massachusetts’ taxes and regulations on business.
“Massachusetts is becoming a place where even homegrown success stories can’t afford to stay,” he wrote in a post on X.
The announcement came the same week that Panera Bread said it would lay off 92 employees at its bakery in Franklin and that life sciences company Thermo Fisher Scientific said it would lay off 103 employees and close a facility, also in Franklin.
The Campbell’s Company also said Thursday it would close the Hyannis manufacturing plant of the beloved Cape Cod potato chip brand. The company will lay off 49 people, it said.
“These are not isolated decisions. They are rational business responses to a state that has become increasingly expensive, unpredictable, and hostile to employers,” said Paul Diego Craney, executive director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a conservative business organization. “High taxes, crushing energy costs, and rigid Net Zero climate mandates are making it harder every day for companies to justify staying in Massachusetts.”
Boston, MA
Celtics, Bucks celebrate history in inaugural NBA Pioneers Classic
The Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks honored the 75th anniversary of the breaking of the NBA’s color barrier Sunday by squaring off in the inaugural NBA Pioneers Classic.
The game spotlighted Basketball Hall of Famers Chuck Cooper, Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton and Earl Lloyd, who were the first Black players to be drafted, sign an NBA contract and appear in an NBA game, respectively.
Players for both teams wore shooting shirts with Cooper, Clifton and Lloyd’s names emblazoned on the back. Each uniform featured a “Pioneers Classic” patch above the nameplate and a “1950” patch beneath the rear jersey number.
The three legends’ names and jersey numbers also appeared on the TD Garden court and on the stanchion beneath each basket. Relatives of Cooper, Clifton and Lloyd joined Jaylen Brown on the court for a pregame address.
“Today is the NBA’s first Pioneer Classic, and it’s an honor to speak on the behalf of some of our legends — Nat Clifton, Earl Lloyd and (the) Boston Celtics’ Chuck Cooper,” Brown, who went on to tally 30 points and 13 rebounds in a 107-79 Celtics win, told the Garden crowd. “… A pioneer, by definition, if a leader, is an innovator and a forward thinker. Who will be the pioneers of this generation? On the behalf of the NBA, I want to say thank you — thank you, Boston. Let’s have a good game.”
Cooper played four seasons for the Celtics from 1950 to 1954.
“When you coach the Celtics, we’ve had just high-character people and have history and have had a tradition in many different forms,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said pregame. “And when you’re helping move that forward, you just have a responsibility to the people who came before you to move it forward. One, to be appreciative of what those before you have done on and off the court, and then the second piece to that is doing your part and moving that forward and kind of leaving it better.
“You don’t have a situation like this if you don’t have the people that have come before you. So that’s important. And I think the league is the same way. We’ve had great people come through this league, influential people, and just taking advantage of the opportunity you have to move forward is an opportunity we’re given.”
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, who coached the Celtics from 2004 until 2013, saluted Red Auerbach during his pregame news conference. Auerbach drafted Cooper in the second round in 1950 — his first draft as Boston’s head coach — fielded the NBA’s first all-Black starting five in 1955 and hired Bill Russell as the league’s first Black head coach in 1966.
“What I think Pioneers Day represents, to me, is America,” Rivers said. “Red Auerbach is responsible for our achievements as much as anyone else. He didn’t see color. He wanted to make the league a better league, and he kept doing it — hiring Bill Russell as coach. I mean, you think about this city that’s had its ups and downs race-wise, but you have this one guy. And I got it a little bit, but when you come here and you coach here, boy, you really get it with Red. You really get what he was about. And so Pioneers Day, first game being here, for me, obviously, being a coach here for nine years, means a lot.”
The Celtics also honored Auerbach and Russell during the game. Auerbach’s granddaughter, Julie Auerbach Flieger, and Russell’s daughter, Karen Kenyatta Russell, were recognized on the court during a first-quarter timeout.
Rivers said the Pioneers Classic is “good for history.”
“Because we live in a time right now where our history is being, you know, whitewashed, a lot of it,” he said. “And I think you learn a lot through history. You have to. I think that’s our problem. We need to teach history, whether it’s bad or good. Need to teach it more.”
Boston, MA
Syracuse lacrosse vs. Boston University: Live score, updates
Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse lacrosse team takes on the Boston University Terriers at 1 p.m., Sunday in the JMA Wireless Dome.
The game will be available to stream on ACC Network Extra.
See in-game team and individual stats here.
Note: Refresh this page throughout Syracuse’s game vs. Boston University to see the latest updates
First quarter
Syracuse 1, Boston University 1 – 6:23
BU goalie Connor Phillips appeared in just three games as a freshman in 2025. Now handling the starting gig, Phillips held strong against the Orange early, making three saves on four shots.
Through the first quarter, Spallina attempted anything to get going. He moved the ball three times with a behind the back pass, and shuffled a one-handed pass out of desperation once the shot clock fell under 10 seconds.
Syracuse 1, Boston University 1 – 9:35
The Orange struck iron on their first shot but retained possession on the groundball. After Finn Thomson missed a shot off a crafty pass from Spallina, SU scooped the ball up again. As the shot clock dwindled, Luke Rhoa worked downhill and beat Connor Phillips low to take a 1-0 lead 90 seconds in.
Syracuse made a stop defensively after BU hit the post too, and the Orange missed the mark on their next shot as Thomson was called for falling into the crease.
Back on the other end, the Terriers tied it up as Ethan Hart found nylon.
Opening faceoff
Multiple offseason position battles were answered quickly. With Ryan out to start the season due to a foot injury, senior Jordan Beck slotted in alongside Dwan and Figueiras. Anderson began on the attack with Deere down and Tyler McCarthy worked into the midfield.
Syracuse secured the opening faceoff on a violation from the Terriers, taking first possession.
Pregame
Syracuse’s 2025 season began with a pushover game against former goalie John Galloway and Jacksonville. The Orange led within two minutes of the opening faceoff and never looked back as a 10-0 run to start the contest ballooned into a 25-4 win. To kickstart 2026, SU faces a much tougher task.
Out of the Patriot League, the Terriers rank No. 17 per Inside Lacrosse to begin the season. Boston University lost its leading scorer, Jimmy O’Connell, to graduation, but returns three Preseason All-Patriot League players in Connor Kehm, Andrew Pape and Timothy Shannehan.
The two squads scrimmaged ahead of the 2025 season, where sophomore attack Payton Anderson remembers the Terriers matching SU’s physicality with a 10-man ride. Head coach Gary Gait emphasized BU’s 10-man ride as a top challenge the Orange will face in the season opener.
“That’s their bread and butter,” Gait said Friday. “Putting pressure on you to clear the ball and try and decrease your number of possessions.”
Syracuse returns a plethora of key contributors from its 2025 ACC Tournament title and Final Four run in senior captains Joey Spallina, Finn Thomson, Billy Dwan III and Riley Figueiras. Additionally, Michael Leo, Luke Rhoa and Jimmy McCool bring experience in high-pressure situations.
Gait pointed to the Orange’s short-stick defensive midfield as the “biggest question mark” entering the season. SU lost Carter Rice to the Professional Lacrosse League and brought in Ohio State transfer Dante Bowen to likely fill the void.
Sophomore Cam Ryan was slated to fill the third defensive spot next to Dwan and Figueiras, but will begin the year on the shelf with a foot injury. The season-ending injury to Trey Deere from a car accident adds intrigue for Syracuse’s attack, opening with Owen Hiltz also moving on to the professional ranks.
Syracuse warmed up in Orange long-sleeve shirts with the slogan “Burn the Boats” on the back. Sporting the mantra against a school from Boston is quite ironic. Though it showcases SU’s “us against the world” mentality, entering a pivotal fifth season under Gait. Its quest toward its first national title since 2009 begins versus the Terriers.
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