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It's Been A Year Since Boston's Record-Setting Winter Began

Graham Jamison (right) and Austin Anschultz walked through blowing snow on Beacon Hill on, Feb. 15, 2015. (Michael Dwyer/AP)
Graham Jamison (right) and Austin Anschultz walked through blowing snow on Beacon Hill on, Feb. 15, 2015. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

It’s been exactly one year since the “Blizzard of 2015” hit Boston, kicking off the winter of our discontent.

And if we’re really being honest, after weeks of record-breaking snowfall, frigid temps and a system-wide shutdown of the MBTA, Bostonians felt more than dissatisfaction last winter. That season’s first snowstorm hit Jan. 26-27 and was the sixth biggest on record. It was really the beginning of the end of our collective sanity. And by the end, the tally of our misery was about $154 million for winter operations across the state.

Remember this?

The Harvard Medical School’s Jeff Way makes crosses BU Bridge through today’s snow storm en route to his office. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Jeff Way, a Harvard Medical School researcher, crossed the BU Bridge as snow continued to fall on Jan. 27, 2015. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Water floods a street on the coast in Scituate. (Michael Dwyer/AP)
Water flooded a street on the coast in Scituate as a blizzard hit the area on Jan. 27, 2015. (Michael Dwyer/AP)
Angelica Irizarry clears the snow away from around her car on Rutland St. in the South End. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Angleica Irizarry cleared snow away from her car on Rutland Street in the South End in late January. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Sean Foley battles whiteout conditions while snowblowing his walkway in Winthrop. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Sean Foley battles whiteout conditions while snowblowing his walkway in Winthrop on Feb. 2, 2015. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Remember this disaster? Thanks to last year's record snowfall, Massachusetts is getting its largest federal disaster relief award ever. (Michael Dwyer/AP)
Graham Jamison and Austin Anschultz walked through blowing snow on Beacon Hill on Feb. 15, 2015. (Michael Dwyer/AP)
The snow pile on February 16. (Michael Dwyer/AP)
The city of Boston's snow pile on Feb. 16, 2015. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

So, here we are, one year later. Are we better prepared? Can we expect more of what we experienced last year?

Since last winter, officials have rolled out new snow removal equipment and plans to handle a brutal winter.

Much of the winter preparations has focused on the MBTA. Namely, trying to make it more reliable for riders when the weather gets bad. Officials have said the T is better prepared now, after spending $85 million on new third rails, rail heaters and snow removal equipment.

Still, there is a long way to go in fixing the ailing transit system. That's something the MBTA's fiscal and management control board, created last year in response to the terrible winter service, is tackling as the T faces an estimated $7.3 billion state-of-good-repair backlog.

The city of Boston also bolstered its winter snow removal plans with the purchase of two large-scale truck-mounted snow blowers.

So far this year, the Boston area hasn’t been walloped by snow like other parts of the East Coast were just this past weekend. But let’s not forget last winter started out pretty mild too. Then the end of January happened.

But WBUR meteorologist David Epstein says last year's winter was an "anomaly."

"We’re not going to see a repeat of last year," Epstein said. "It’s just not going to happen."

The weather patterns are different this year, according to Epstein. That doesn't mean there won't be snowstorms, but this winter will be less snowy and less frigid than last winter, he said. We can also expect to see more periods of thaw — which means no more massive snow piles.

"I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up significantly below average for snowfall this year," Epstein said. "We’ve had so many years that have been above average snowfall over the past 10 years, we’re almost due for a below average year."

After last winter, we'll take that.

Related:

Headshot of Zeninjor Enwemeka

Zeninjor Enwemeka Senior Business Reporter
Zeninjor Enwemeka is a senior business reporter who covers business, tech and culture as part of WBUR's Bostonomix team, which focuses on the innovation economy.

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