Remember the winter of 2015? Here's a look back at Boston's snowiest season.
It's hard to believe, but Friday marks 10 years since the final major storm of Boston's record-breaking winter in 2015 - a season that buried the city under an unbelievable 110.6 inches of snow.
From late January to mid-February, storm after storm pummeled the region, each one seemingly more relentless than the last. Nearly two feet of snow fell at a time, and with bitter cold preventing any significant melting, the city was transformed into a frozen maze of towering snowbanks and impassable streets.
For weeks, Boston felt trapped in a never-ending cycle of shoveling, plowing, and bracing for the next onslaught.
Public transit ground to a halt as the MBTA struggled to keep trains running through the accumulating snow and ice. The city scrambled to find space for the excess snow, eventually resorting to dumping it into Boston Harbor and creating the now-infamous "snow farm" in South Boston, where massive piles lingered into mid-July. Roof collapses became a growing concern, and daily life was dictated by the ever-present winter chaos.
Then came February—an extraordinary month that shattered records. The city recorded 64.8 inches of snow that month alone, making it the snowiest month in Boston's history. It was also the second coldest month ever recorded, ensuring that what fell from the sky stayed put for weeks on end.
Biggest storms of the 2015 winter in Boston
Some of the biggest storms of that winter included:
January 26-27: The Blizzard of 2015 – 24.6 inches
February 2: Groundhog Day Storm – 16.2 inches
February 7-9: Historic Nor'easter – 23.8 inches
February 14-15: Valentine's Weekend Storm – 13.4 inches
A historic winter
By the time the season was over, Boston had endured the snowiest winter on record, surpassing the previous mark of 107.6 inches set in 1995-96. The winter of 2015 became the benchmark against which all future storms would be measured. Every Nor'easter since has inevitably been compared to that historic season, with residents asking, "Is this as bad as 2015?"
A decade later, the memories remain vivid. The endless shoveling. The buried cars. The eerie quiet of a city brought to a standstill. The camaraderie of neighbors helping each other dig out. The collective disbelief as yet another storm loomed on the horizon.
While Boston has seen plenty of harsh winters before and since, none have quite matched the intensity and endurance of 2015. So as we bundle up this season and brace for whatever winter has in store, we can at least take solace in one thing: It's not 2015!
