'I’m getting a good glass of whiskey ready': Gloucester fishermen work last catch as nor’easter nears
But before the whiskey is poured, the preparations begin in Gloucester, located roughly 30 miles to the northeast of Boston
Gloucester fishermen work last catch as nor'easter nears
America’s first seaport is no stranger to a nor’easter, but a storm on the horizon is not taken lightly. When the fishing village in Gloucester, Massachusetts, heard that 2 to 3 feet of snow and blizzard conditions were on the way this weekend, the locals are listening.
GLOUCESTER, Mass. – America’s first seaport is no stranger to a nor’easter, but a storm on the horizon is not taken lightly.
When the fishing village in Gloucester, Massachusetts, heard that 2 to 3 feet of snow and blizzard conditions were on the way this weekend, the locals are listening.
"I think I’m hunkering down, charging my phone and getting a good glass of whiskey ready," Gloucester lobster fisherman Steve Murray said.
But before the whiskey is poured, the preparations begin in Gloucester, located roughly 30 miles to the northeast of Boston.
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"We usually come down mid-storm, and we will check on the boat, make sure all the lines are good, tie them up right," Murray said. "A lot of preparations and not a lot of worrying, but a little that goes with it."
Coastal flooding, loss of power and supplies are major concerns in towns like Gloucester.
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A half-block from the ocean is Mom’s Kitchen, where the food is piping hot, and no matter Mother Nature’s wrath, they plan to keep serving meals.
"We are preparing here. We got our snowblower, we got our snowplow guy … so we plan on being open," Mom’s Kitchen owner Eleanor Tucker said. "I know it’s going to be a lot, but we will be OK."
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Gisela Billanti will keep busy waiting tables at Mom’s Kitchen during the storm, but she has a feeling about this one.
"I think we are gonna be buried. This is a lot snow, this is a lot snow we are gonna be getting," Billanti said. "Hopefully, it’s not going to flood over this way."
Billanti’s concern about flooding is spot on. The last blizzard Gloucester experienced was in 2018, and many roads close to the shore were flooded, making conditions even more hazardous.
Many fishermen in the area are working their last catch before what could be a historic nor’easter for over 50 million people from the Mid-Atlantic to New England.