WINTER SAYS ‘HELLO’: Biggest storm in five years dumps over 23 inches of snow, closes Malden schools for two days

Two-day Nor’easter makes ‘Top 10’ all-time, now ranked #8 in greater Boston area history

By Steve Freker

Some folks loved it, most others hated it, but regardless, this one was memorable. The two-day storm that whacked us hard Sunday and Monday was also historical. The 23.2 inch snowfall recorded between 10:30 a.m. Sunday and around 11:45 p.m. Monday night settles in as the eighth highest single-storm finish in greater Boston history.

The biggest snowstorm in just under three years came along with arctic temperatures, which began with single digits down to two degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday morning, rising only to seven or eight degrees by the time the snow started in earnest on Sunday morning. A snow emergency was declared Sunday morning in Malden and every other surrounding community and snow emergency parking bans were instituted for the first time in two years.

Following an initial snowfall of about 18 inches from Sunday into Monday morning, all Malden Public Schools were closed due to treacherous travel conditions. The snow stopped around 3:00 p.m. Monday, but resumed after a several hour reprieve, with a “Part 2” of the storm bringing over five more inches by close to midnight. Malden DPW trucks and sanders and dozens more trucks hired by the city as independent contractors worked around the clock beginning early Sunday morning and up past midnight Monday to keep the roads passable. Still, city officials urged Malden residents to stay off the roads and to keep their vehicles off the local streets to allow free passage to the many snowplow vehicles out on roads, to allow them to do their jobs.

This week’s storm was nearly identical to the #7 biggest snowfall, which just happened to be our last major snowstorm, the “Blizzard of 2022,” just under three years ago, which took place over January 28-29, 2022. The January 2022 North American blizzard caused widespread and disrupting impacts to the Atlantic coast of North America from northern Delaware to Nova Scotia with as much as 30 inches of snowfall, blizzard conditions and coastal flooding.

This week’s storm was “The Last Roundup” for longtime Malden Department of Works (DPW) Director Bob Knox, who has led the charge in many a snowstorm over the years, since taking over the reins as DPW Chief in 2012. It was announced in December Knox would be leaving his post on February 1 to assume a similar, but expanded position next door in the city of Everett.

In addition to Malden Public Schools, the two parochial schools in the city — Malden Catholic High School and Cheverus Catholic — and Mystic Valley Regional Charter School and high school being closed Monday, many local businesses also closed for Monday due to tough travel conditions. Malden Public Schools cited pedestrian safety, primarily, due to un-shoveled, blocked sidewalks. All of the schools remained closed on Tuesday for the same reasons, except Mystic Valley, which held regular classes for all students.

SIDEBAR STORY:

This week’s storm — 23.2 inches — was #8 on the all-time biggest Top 10 in the greater Boston; #1 came in Feb. 2003

By Steve Freker

This week’s storm has become one of the biggest snowstorms in greater Boston recorded history, with a total of 23.2 inches, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). This comes after the bulk of the storm dumped large amounts of snow on Sunday, with additional snowfall throughout Monday helping push this storm to become the eighth largest storm in greater Boston. The NWS reported that snowfall totals in Boston reached 20.2 inches at 7 p.m. on Monday, placing it as the 10th largest storm at that moment. However, by the end of the day, the snow had stopped falling, and the city had received an additional three inches, which moved the storm up to the #8 spot.

The total comes in just behind our last major storm, the two-day “Blizzard of 2022,” which dumped 23.6 inches on the city over the span of two days, January 28-29. As of January 2026, Boston’s top-10 snowstorms are led by the 2003 Presidents’ Day Storm (27.6 inches) and the 1978 Blizzard (27.1 inches). Recent major storms include the January 2022 blizzard (23.6 inches) and the Jan. 25-26, 2026, storm (23.2 inches), which rank highly in the city’s record-setting history.

Top 10 Heaviest Snowstorms in Boston

1. Feb. 17-18, 2003: 27.6 inches (Presidents’ Day Storm).
2. Feb. 6-7, 1978: 27.1 inches (Blizzard of ’78).
3. Feb. 24-27, 1969: 26.3 inches.
4. March 31-April 1, 1997: 25.4 inches (April Fools’ Day Blizzard).
5. Feb. 8-9, 2013: 24.9 inches (Nemo).
6. Jan. 22-23, 2005: 22.5 inches.
7. Jan. 29, 2022: 23.6 inches.
8. Jan. 25-26, 2026: 23.2 inches (Winter Storm Fern).
9. Dec. 20-22, 1975: 18.2 inches.

10. Jan. 27, 2015: 22.1 inches.