Over 20 Inches of Snow in Foxborough - Where Did That Come From?

Did anyone see this coming?

The slow moving, two-day storm was originally expected to drop just 3 to 5 inches of snow in the Foxborough area but an updated forecast Thursday morning showed accumulation could total closer to 6 to 7 inches. As of Thursday night, that forecast was increased to 10 to 14 inches before the storm's conclusion Friday.

Didn't happen that way.

Meteorologists were left scrambling to update weather maps and snowfall totals while the snow continued to pile up in Foxborough. The Gem of Norfolk County was once again smack dab in the middle of a storm.

WHDH meteorologist Pete Bouchard reported Thursday night Foxborough was part of the "Mini Snow Jackpot" to hit the state, accumulating more than seven inches with an additional four to eight expected overnight.

Foxborough certainly got hammered into Friday morning, amassing a total of 15 inches of snow by 8 a.m., which forced schools to close for the day.

That decision was made by Superintendent of Schools Debra Spinelli at 6 a.m., marking the fifth time in the 2012-13 academic year Foxborough Public Schools were closed due to weather and/or power outages. Foxborough was forced to shut down for two days in October as a result of power outages caused by Hurricane Sandy and two days in February due to the Blizzard of 2013.

Friday's closing uses the fifth and final make-up date built into the original schedule of the 2012-13 calendar and pushes the last day of school from June 24 to June 25. The last day for seniors will remain May 31st. Cancellations from here on out will simply tack another day of school onto the calendar in June.

Where is the summer going?

What started out as a chance for some snow Wednesday into Thursday turned into a full-fledged storm that surprised many, including Bouchard.

"Every forecaster has his/her flub, but I can't recall one this bad in a long time. I was hoodwinked into believing a storm scooting into the Atlantic wouldn't produce nearly two feet of snow across the Commonwealth," Bouchard wrote in his weather blog on 7Weather.com. "And in my defense, that is true in many respects. How many times has a storm darted southeast of Nantucket leaving us unscathed? And who would call for those amounts with a storm hundreds of miles offshore?!?

"This one was different. We were lulled into believing the storm played its best hand yesterday: snow fell and melted on contact. Big gaps opened up and the sun briefly poked out. Stay the course, we thought.

"But the storm stalled. Then it hooked into a batch of moisture - perhaps subtropical - and catapulted it back into Mass. The curtain closed around 5-6am, the curtain closed, and we were doomed."

Read more from Bouchard by clicking here.

In Foxborough, Patch readers said they too were surprised with the amount of snow to hit town Friday.

Kristina Konicki said: "I wasn't expecting this. Areas around us aren't even half as bad. I don't think I'll be going out today."

Roseanne Burbank said: "They totally miscalculated this storm."

And Samantha Stowell Smith asked: "Why does it seem like we are always 'leading the way' with snowfall?"

Others said the roads were so bad they were unable to make it into work.

"I gave up, turned around and went back home after an hour of driving and having only gone eight miles," said Josephine Cristaldi Rego. "My husband and children are still in the car on their way to Hingham (they left at 7 a.m. this morning). I understand the timing of the storm was awful, but I almost feel like the Governor should have put a driving ban into effect like he did for the Blizzard. The plows can't do their jobs if the highways are gridlocked."

Fortunately, and perhaps a bit ironically, Foxborough will be seeing lots of sunshine this weekend with tempeartures in the mid 40s ... that's if the snow ever stops falling.

TELL US: Did this two-day storm catch you off guard? Let us know in the comments section below!