Forecasters issue black ice warning as storm winds down

By Martin Finucane and Lauren Dezenski, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent

National Weather Service forecasters warned this afternoon of possible black ice forming later this evening on the roads and persisting into the early Wednesday commute, as a coastal storm winds down that dropped more than a foot of snow in some areas of the state.

The main concern, forecasters said, will be that overnight temperatures will drop into the 20s, causing any standing water to freeze. That ice may still be there during the morning rush hour.

The storm forced local officials to close schools, sent cars spinning off roads, and caused power outages.

One spinout accident involved the bus carrying the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team and another vehicle, but the team was on its way to its next stop shortly afterward. Foxborough officials said three people were injured in a snow-related accident there; the victims’ conditions weren’t immediately available.

Shortly after 3 p.m., State Police reported a crash, with injuries, between a motor vehicle and tanker truck on the Massachusetts Turnpike. The crash forced closure of the westbound side of the road at Exit 13 in Natick, but vehicles were soon getting by in the breakdown lane. Natick fire and rescue units were at the scene.

The snowstorm was responsible for a different kind of injury in Newton, where a man’s finger was amputated in a snowblower accident.

More than 1,100 customers lost power at one point in Boston.

The highest snow total in the state so far has been reported in Lunenburg, which received 14.4 inches. Other communities that recorded high amounts included Townsend, 13.7 inches; Pepperell, 13.2 inches; and Woburn and Tyngsborough, 11.5 inches. Boston received 7 inches.

The forecasters said that once the storm is gone, a period of below-normal temperatures and clear skies will be ushered in.