‘Stay off the roads’: Healey directs non-essential state employees to stay home Tuesday due to storm

BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Monday directed about 22,000 non-essential state employees to stay home Tuesday due to an approaching nor’easter that could dump more than a foot of snow across much of the state, including Boston.

“Due to the forecasted weather and unsafe driving conditions expected tomorrow, Governor Healey has directed that all non-essential employees of the Executive Branch to not report to their workplaces on Tuesday, February 13, 2024,” a memo from Healey’s office stated.

Members of the Executive Branch include the Office of Education, Office of Health and Human Services, and Office of Veterans Services, among many others.

Healey’s office noted that “most” non-essential employees of the Executive Branch will telework.

The storm is expected to move in overnight and ramp up between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., bringing up to 2 inches of heavy, wet snow per hour.

“We encourage you to stay home, stay off the roads,” Healey told reporters at North Station after attending a transportation investment event. “If you’re on the roads, don’t crowd the plows.”

Healey also asked members of the public who can work remotely to do so instead of trekking into the office.

Healey, along with MEMA Director Dawn Brantley, Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt, Energy & Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper, MBTA General Manager Phil Eng, MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver, are planning to provide a formal storm update at 3 p.m. from the state’s Highway Operations Center in Boston.

Some school districts in Massachusetts started announcing cancellations for Tuesday on Monday morning.

Updated list of school closures, click here.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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