Forecast leaves winter-weary with no place to hide

Driving home Tuesday night from her consulting job in Boston, Rhode Island resident Rebecca Smalls said she was nearly driven to tears.

''It was awful," said the 26-year-old, describing the treacherous road and near white-out conditions caused by a snowstorm that came with howling 50-mile-per-hour wind gusts.

Another major snowstorm could strike tomorrow. Forecasters expect several more inches starting tomorrow morning, getting heavier during the afternoon, and changing over to snow and freezing rain for the evening commute.

Snowy conditions will persist through Saturday, though accumulations are, so far, expected to be light to moderate, said meteorologist Mike Jackson of the National Weather Service in Taunton.

Tuesday night's storm dumped nearly 5 inches of snow in Boston and as much as 10 inches in Central and Western Massachusetts. It pushed the season's snowfall to roughly 83 inches in Boston, already twice the average of 39 inches, Jackson said.

Winter-weary New Englanders shared similar harrowing tales of iced-over windshields, stuck doors, and frenzied scraping. Complaints of flat tires, fender benders, frozen windshield wipers, and dead batteries flooded the American Automobile Association motor club and private tow-truck companies.

While frustrated residents exclaim ''Enough already!" there are others, such as snowplow drivers, tow-truck companies, and hotel operators, who are making a mint this winter.

''What can I say? It's like hitting the lottery," said one plow operator from Belgrade Automotive Inc. in Boston.

John Molloy, owner of Molloy Landscaping Inc. of Hyde Park, giggled mischievously while noting that his business -- which specializes in environmentally friendly ice melting rocks, as well as plowing services -- has so far doubled since last year.

''I'm probably the only one who has a smile on his face when I hear there will be snow," he said.

Still, plowing roadways is an exhausting business. ''I go out with the guys, and I'm pretty tired," Molloy said. ''We're losing a lot of sleep."

Also hitting the jackpot so far this winter are hotels.

Vacationers stranded at Logan International Airport and commuters who called it quits Tuesday night broke out the credit cards and spent the night in warm, cable-ready suites, with room service.

''We did see a big bump with people checking in; a lot of it, I'm sure, had to do with the weather," said Bill Sage, executive vice president of the Sage Hotel Corp., which operates the Radisson Hotel in Cambridge and the Howard Johnson in the Fenway.

But Mark Currier of D&D Towing in South Boston said the extra business does little to soothe his frost-bitten winter angst. ''We've been very, very busy," he said. ''But I'm sick of it. Can't wait for spring."

Also unable to wait was Arthur T. Fletcher II of East Weymouth. He spent yesterday afternoon playing golf at the Fore Seasons Golf driving range and teaching facility in Hingham.

''I'm just trying to improve my game," said Fletcher, 38, a roofer and father of five who hit some balls in the snow.

''I figure just swinging the club will help, so I get out whenever I can."

Megan Tench can be reached at mtench@globe.com.