Peabody May See Ocean-Effect Snow Band; Parking Ban Declared

PEABODY, MA — After being on the lower end of accumulations in recent snowstorms, ocean-effect snows could make the North Shore and other coastal communities the jackpot in a long-duration storm expected to start Thursday afternoon and continue through Friday.

NBC10 Boston meteorologist Aaron Perry told Patch on Thursday that snow bands could develop along the coast and bring the North Shore up to 7 or 8 inches, with a widespread 3 to 6 inches expected across much of the state.

Peabody declared a snow emergency parking ban ahead of the storm beginning at 9 p.m. on Thursday.

When a parking ban is in effect, vehicles will be allowed to park in the following city-owned municipal parking lots: Foster Street Lot, Central Street Lot, Nichols Street Lot and Mill Street Parking Lot.

Vehicles are allowed into the lots upon the ban going into effect at 9 p.m. and must be removed within two hours of the ban being rescinded. If the ban is rescinded after midnight, the vehicle can stay in the lot until 8 a.m.

Any vehicle left in the lot after this time will be subject to being ticketed and towed to allow for snow removal in the lots.

Perry forecast light snow to start North of the Mass Pike late Thursday afternoon with a "low impact" on the evening commute.

"Overnight, ocean-effect snow bands are expected to move onshore across eastern areas as low-level flow turns from the northeast," Perry said.

Snow was forecast to linger throughout the day Friday with some rain possibly mixing in along the Cape and some coastal locations.

Check back with Patch for updates throughout the storm.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)