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WEATHER
National Weather Service

By the numbers: Boston's snowy winter

Doyle Rice
USA TODAY
Commuters walk between piles of snow on a street in downtown Boston on Feb. 11, 2015.

It's been a crazy, cold and snowy winter in Boston, one residents will likely remember for generations. Here are some of the wild statistics from the winter of 2014-15 in Boston:

How muchsnow has fallen, and is it a record?

This is the second snowiest winter in Boston's history, with 105.7 inches as of Thursday morning. That's more than 8.5 feet of snow and just 1.9 inches below its record of 107.6 inches set in the winter of 1995 to 1996. Boston weather records go back to just after the Civil War.

February was the snowiest month ever recorded in Boston, with 64.8 inches. This winter has also featured the city's sixth-biggest and seventh-biggest snowstorms of all time.

How much snow has the city plowed?

At one point in early February, enough snow had been plowed in the Boston area to fill the Patriots' football stadium (Gillette Stadium) about 90 times. That's more than 25 million tons of snow.

How much does the snow equal in water?

If all the snow that fell in the Boston area melted now, it would equal almost 6 billion gallons of water, which would fill almost 9,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Snow covers the city of Boston on Feb. 24, 2015.

Has it been cold, too?

Yes. Boston recorded 28 straight days with lows 20 degrees or colder from Jan. 25 through Feb. 21, a record stretch. Last month was the city's second-coldest February on record.

A man shovels the sidewalk on Beacon Street in Boston on Feb. 25, 2015.

What have been some of the impacts?

The snow and cold in the Boston area have cost the region's economy some $2 billion. At least 130 roofs have collapsed in the Boston area due to the snow. Boston's City Schools have closed for eight days this winter — the most since records began — and kids will now have to go to school until June 30.

Since Dec. 1, 2014, there have been about 4,384 cancellations and 17,750 delays for flights departing or arriving at Boston Logan Airport.

How does this compare with other snowy cities?

As amazing as the snow has been in Boston this winter, cities such as Buffalo (with 199 inches in 1977) and Syracuse (with 192 inches in 1993) have had far snowier winters.

Workers use heavy machinery on a pile of snow hauled to a 'snow farm' at a parking lot in the Seaport District of Boston on Feb. 18, 2015.

Sources: National Weather Service; The Vane; Eric Fisher, WBZ-TV; The Weather Channel; Boston City Schools; Insurance Journal; Planalytics; FlightAware

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