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Friday's Forecast Brings Back Memories Of 2007 Midday Storm

BOSTON (CBS) - Andrea Clark remembers the last middle of the day snow storm in 2007.

She left work in Lowell at 2 p.m. and got home to Needham nine hours later.

"The storm hit so fast and so hard, the plows didn't have a chance to keep up," Clark told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports

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It was December 2007 when a huge storm struck late morning dumping about a foot on snow on the Boston area and grinding traffic to a halt.

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Gov. Patrick sent all non-emergency state employees home early and urged private businesses to do the same.

Clark got stuck three times on her way home.

"A couple of guys pushed me out of the (snow) bank, the second time I managed to get myself out and the third time in Waltham, I just sat there," she said.

A tow truck eventually got her out the third time.

Clark's advice as we head into Friday's storm?

Check into a hotel or don't go to work at all.

Kevin Seremi, of Longmeadow, was snarled in traffic for hours. "I remember that storm. It was a mess, it was a disaster, it was a parking lot. I don't want to be in it again. I am not traveling tomorrow. I am not doing it."

Bob Sheehy of Derry, New Hampshire says there's one word to describe that day: Lunacy.

Chris Sheehan of Wakefield remembers it well. "I was operating a moving truck, we were doing a move, it was from Winthrop to Londonderry, NH. It took us six hours to get up to Londonderry. It was a bad day."

Jimmy Piatelli of Norwood recalls, "You couldn't move it was awful, the plows couldn't get out, everyone got out early, people couldn't move. It was nuts."

But there were some brights spots in that storm Piatelli tells us, "I was on Route 9 trying to get to 128 actually, there was a lady in front of me who ran out of gas, so I helped her out and got her going."

There are some similarities with the timing of the December 2007 storm and tomorrow's storm as both will hit on Friday afternoons.

But the Secretary of Transportation Rich Davey tells us the state is taking action to prevent a repeat of the 2007 gridlock.

Davey says the Governor and Boston Mayor Tom Menino are both taking precautions to help keep people off the roads, so the MassDot crews can do their work and keep the roads clear.

"We expect to have over 4500 pieces of equipment out tomorrow," Davey says. "We expect Mother Nature to pack a wallop and we will be prepared to take that on."

There is a bright side to this storm as well. Davey says, "The only upside is we have a weekend to clear up and clean up."

WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson contributed to this story.

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