Cohasset officials huddled on Tuesday for a town-wide after-action meeting, dissecting how the municipality handled the Jan. 25 to 27 winter storm while staring down forecasts hinting at another major snowmaker. Police and fire brass, school leaders, and public works crews compared notes on what clicked and what bogged down during cleanup and reopening. On the table were parking bans, snow-dump operations, and how the town’s heavy equipment held up. CEMA Director Glenn Pratt and Interim Town Manager Michelle Leary led the session.
After-Action Review Zeroes In On Snow Removal And Parking Bans
During the review, town leaders walked step by step through the Jan. 25 to 27 storm response, drilling into how quickly and clearly parking bans were announced, how school closures were coordinated, and how efficiently snow dumps and plow rotations were managed. They evaluated which parking-ban locations and notification methods actually did their job and where the playbook needs a rewrite before the next big system rolls in. The town described these meetings as sessions that are “conducted following any significant storm or major incident to evaluate performance, identify areas for improvement, and refine response strategies,” according to the Cohasset Police Department on Facebook.
DPW Stretched Along Route 3A As Workloads Stack Up
The Department of Public Works detailed how hard it worked during and after the storm, from keeping major routes like the Route 3A corridor passable to carving out safe sidewalks. Cohasset’s DPW website lists snow removal, sanding, and sidewalk maintenance as core responsibilities, and the town has previously flagged construction work on Sohier Street and Route 3A that adds to the maintenance burden. Those duties - along with managing the transfer station - were central to the discussion of response timelines and staffing levels, as reflected on the Department of Public Works page and in local coverage.
Command Staff Stresses Cross-Department Coordination
Pratt and Leary organized the meeting to tighten coordination across departments before any follow-on storms test the system again. Pratt is listed as director on the town’s emergency-management page, and Leary appears on the town manager directory, outlining the formal chain of command used in incident response. Officials also flagged a practical lesson learned: the need for larger meeting spaces with solid ventilation and enough restrooms to comfortably host multi-agency planning sessions when the weather gets rough.
Forecast Models Hint At Another Heavy Hit; Residents Urged To Get Ready
In its latest update, the town warned that “current weather models project a potential significant snow event exceeding 28 inches of accumulation early next week,” and urged residents to stay on top of forecasts and preparedness channels, according to the Cohasset Police Department on Facebook. That eye-popping projection comes on the heels of a Jan. 25 to 27 nor’easter that dumped heavy snow across eastern Massachusetts, a regional pounding documented by NBC Boston. If the new models hold, town officials cautioned that residents should expect pre-storm parking bans and longer cleanup windows.
Where To Find Alerts And Real-Time Updates
Cohasset Emergency Management is urging residents to enroll in RAVE emergency alerts and to keep an eye on the town’s civicalerts and department pages for real-time directions before and during storms. The agency’s “Stay Informed” landing page walks people through how to sign up for alerts and links out to preparedness resources, while the town’s News Flash and civicalerts feeds carry nuts-and-bolts operational notices like parking bans and transfer-station changes. Officials say they plan to keep pushing updates across these official channels as forecasts evolve and response plans lock into place.
Town leaders framed the after-action session as part of a continuous-improvement push so crews can clear roads and reopen schools faster after future storms. Residents who park on town streets or commute along Route 3A are being urged to follow official channels closely for any new restrictions and to build extra time into their routines when the next system moves in.
