Life and Relationship Coaching near Boston, MA

It's here– the South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Presented by the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council (SBAWVC), the Southie parade full of colorful floats, marching bands, bagpipes and dancing celebrates not only St. Patrick's Day, but also Evacuation Day, when the British left Boston during the Revolutionary War.

Boston's 2026 St. Patrick's Day parade will take place today, Sunday, March 15, and this year, the parade will feature a different route and an all-new family fun zone.

Here's what to know about the parade's schedule, route and rules before you attend.

What time does the Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade start?

The parade will start at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 15.

Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade Route

This year, Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade will march through Southie in the opposite direction as usual, starting at Andrew Square and ending at A Street and West Broadway. Here's the full route:

Broadway, especially between Broadway Station and L Street, is the best place for viewing. Medal of Honor Park and Thomas Park offer good viewpoints with fewer crowds.

Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade 2026 Chief Marshal

The Chief Marshal of the 2026 Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade is Col. Tim Murphy, an Army veteran who was born and raised in South Boston.

How to get to the Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade

Driving to the parade is discouraged due to road closures and parking bans near the parade route.

Instead, public transportation is encouraged, and luckily, the MBTA is offering extended transportation, including additional cars on the commuter rail and free shuttle buses from South Station to South Boston from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Be sure to plan plenty of time to get a good spot before the procession starts – Boston's parade has drawn crowds of one million people in past years.

Boston adds new 'family-friendly zone' at parade

For the first time ever, the Southie parade will introduce a "family-friendly zone" along the parade route. Located inside the Medal of Honor Park at at 775 East 1st St., the zone will include booths and activities from parade sponsors and the Massachusetts Army National Guard.

The creation of this zone comes in response to the parade's typically rowdy crowds, as South Boston has been cracking down on disruptive behavior at the parade in the past few years.

Boston St. Patrick's Day parade rules

Here is a list of rules for the parade from the SBAWVC:

Bailey Allen of the USA TODAY Network contributed to this report.

Boston, MA – A warming trend is expected across Massachusetts early this week before rain arrives Thursday.

According to the National Weather Service in Boston, temperatures will climb well above normal through midweek, with many locations reaching into the 60s by Tuesday and some inland areas potentially nearing 70 degrees.

Forecasters say Monday will remain mostly sunny, with highs generally between the mid-50s and low 60s, though coastal communities may stay cooler due to onshore winds. The warming trend continues Tuesday with sunny skies and mild conditions across much of the region.

Weather conditions are expected to shift beginning Wednesday, when scattered showers may develop as the pattern becomes more unsettled.

The National Weather Service says Thursday is likely to bring the most widespread rainfall, along with breezy conditions. Higher elevations could briefly see rain mixing with snow later in the day, though most areas are expected to experience rain.

Temperatures are projected to cool behind a passing cold front by Friday, with highs falling into the low to mid-40s. Forecasters say precipitation may linger in some areas as rain or snow showers as the colder air moves in.

The warm start to the week may bring a brief taste of spring before the return of cooler conditions heading into the weekend.

For commuters and students across the Boston area, the changing pattern means dry travel early in the week but potentially wet roads during the Thursday commute.

Residents are encouraged to monitor updated forecasts as the midweek system approaches.

This article was produced by a journalist and may include AI-assisted input.All content is reviewed for accuracy and fairness.Follow us on Instagram & Facebook and support local independent news.Have a tip? Message us.

Happy Tuesday! While today started off dry, we’re already looking at snow out there across the area. While this event will primarily stay as rain on the Cape and islands, it will be an icy mix of snow, ice and rain for the rest of us.

The rain/snow line will continue to advance from the south to the north as the evening progresses. Before the changeover, there will be a quick coating to 2 inches for most of our area.

The threshold between the snow and rain will feature sleet and freezing rain, leading to that icing.

For the rest of the night, there will primarily be rain with continued pockets of freezing rain, leading to increasing spotty ice accretion. Be extremely careful on roads, especially since switching between rain and freezing rain can wash off any road salt.

The rain and freezing rain will exit by 6 a.m. Wednesday, but temperatures will still be close to freezing during the morning commute, so watch out for some spotty black ice.

The rest of Wednesday will be really nice! Highs will warm up to the mid 50s with the help of ample sun.

Thursday we start off in the mid 20s and top off in the mid 40s. We’ll be partly sunny with another chance for some wintry weather Thursday night. This primarily looks like some rain and freezing rain, rather than the triple threat with snow too. We’ll keep an eye on that for you.

That will continue into Friday morning. The rest of Friday: cloudy with a chance for a spot shower and highs cooler again in the upper 30s. Saturday will be dry, breezy and cloudy but gorgeous near 50 degrees! There’s a chance for some rain showers Saturday night. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour before you to go bed!

Sunday we start the day mild in the 40s and make it all the way into the upper 50s with more sun. Monday and Tuesday both look bright and in the 60s! Stay tuned.

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Boston and much of Massachusetts is in the midst of a busy stretch of winter weather with two chances of snow in the coming days.

Technically, we are nearing the end of the winter season. We've got just 10 days left meteorologically speaking. The 7-day forecast says something completely different. There are no "warm ups" on tap. In fact we don't even have a 40-degree day on the map. There is also a notable lack of sunshine, particularly between Friday and Monday.

Something there is no shortage of ... an active storm track.

After the next five days, depending on how much snow you get at your house, you final opinion on the winter of 2025-2026 may change for the better, or worse.

Storm 1 - Friday Timeline

STORM TIMELINE: FridayPOTENTIAL IMPACT: ModerateCONFIDENCE: Moderate to High

Confidence is increasing for a moderately impactful, wintry mix on Friday. We expect a "front-end thump" of snow arriving late morning/midday Friday.

In other words, just about the entire area will start with a burst of snow with the possible exception of the far South Coast.

Unlike many of our other storms this winter, this one will not be a powdery, fluffy snow. In fact, rain and ice are going to play a significant factor in most of the area as mixing quickly follows the snow.

There is going to be some mixing as far north as the New Hampshire border Friday afternoon and evening. Temperatures will be largely at or above freezing through the evening, so road conditions may be able to stay in relatively good shape for most outside of the coldest northern areas.

As colder air returns overnight, mix should turn back to all snow. Most of the snow that falls Friday night will be located along and north of the Mass Pike with very little precipitation to the south.

The snow will gradually taper to snow showers and lighter flurries overnight into early Saturday. Travel conditions will deteriorate after 10 a.m. on Friday and be toughest in the afternoon and evening.

How much snow Friday?

Coating - 1 inches: From Scituate to Providence and all areas south through Cape Cod. Unlikely there will be any evidence of snow when all is said and done.

1 to 3 inches: Areas north and west of a line from Scituate and Providence through Route 2 and the North Shore, including Boston. It will be a sloppy mess in this area with sleet and rain topping the initial snow and then returning to snow late.

3 to 6 inches: Areas north of Route 2 through southern New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, including northern Worcester, northern Middlesex and northern Essex counties.

Even though mixing will be somewhat less impactful here, it will still be a heavy and wet snowfall.

Storm 2 - Sunday-Monday timeline

STORM TIMELINE: Sunday into MondayPOTENTIAL IMPACT: HighCONFIDENCE: Low

Last but not least, there will be a major storm forming off the Carolinas later this weekend. This one will really "bomb out" just offshore and become a powerful ocean storm.

The impacts here in southern New England are dependent upon the track of the low pressure.

This has been a common theme this winter. We have narrowly missed several storms that have tracked just a bit too far south of our area.

As of this writing, the odds of a worst-case scenario is around 1 in 5. Should this occur, we would have a major snowstorm on our hands, strong winds and also coastal concerns.

We are currently leaning towards a middle track, with a 3 in 5 chance. Our area would be fringed by the storm with the greatest impacts over southeastern Massachusetts.

Finally, we feel there is a 1 in 5 chance of a complete miss, totally out to sea, no snow in southern New England.

The WBZ NEXT Weather Team will have you covered on WBZ-TV and WBZ.com every step of the way!

In:

ALL PHOTOS BY GEORGE DIONNE/@rockisgeorge

Heading up to the Orpheum Theater to see OPETH and KATATONIA, I was trying to convince myself that it hadn’t actually been 22 years since I last saw OPETH. Come to find out it hadn’t actually been that long…it was 21 years and 11 months (but who’s counting?).

As the years passed, I became a casual fan at best. Checking in every now and then to see what they were up to. I had heard that their latest album released in 2024, ‘The Last Will And Testament’, was a return to their ‘Deliverance’/‘Damnation’ days. In some ways it was, in other ways it was a clear evolution. Initially, I didn’t hate it, but it didn’t exactly blow me away. That would change on February 16, 2026.

OPETH was such an eye opening band to me in 2004. Their back-to-back releases ‘Deliverance’ & ‘Damnation’ were unlike anything I had heard at the time. Remember kids, the Internet was in its infancy. Sure, I had heard Death Metal music before and I had heard Progressive Metal as well, but bringing them both together…unheard of! At least in my world.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, the only way to truly experience a band’s music is in a live setting. I had just discovered KATATONIA recently with the release of their 2025 album ‘Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State’. While I would classify the album as a Progressive Metal affair, KATATONIA’s live performance took it up 7 notches. Come to find out, KATATONIA and OPETH are not too far from each other when it comes to musical stylings. While there were passages that one would consider progressive in nature, much of their nine song set was full of intensity and guttural screams mixed with clean melodies. KATATONIA managed to get two songs from their latest album in the set, mixed in with fan favorites from ‘Sky Void of Stars’ (2023), ‘The Fall of Hearts’ (2017), ‘Dead End Kings’ (2012), ‘Night Is The New Day’ (2009), and ‘The Great Cold Distance’ (2006).

Set List

It was standing room only when OPETH took the stage, and this was a fully seated theater venue. ‘(Paragraph) 1’ from their latest album kicked off the set and re-awakened the 28 year old me experiencing OPETH live for the first time. This track, and essentially the entire set, delivered a plethora of switching tempos, emotions, and growling vocals battling it out with melodic ones.

Lost in the shuffle of a lot of harder Metal acts are the intricacies of the drum patterns, guitar and bass work. OPETH’s rhythm section was firing on all cylinders, with each member getting a chance to show off a bit throughout the night. OPETH’s presentation of ‘(Paragraph) 1’, ‘7’, and ‘3’ provided me with a new outlook on ‘The Last Will And Testament’ (which I am currently enjoying on vinyl while writing this).

There was a bit more banter between the band and the crowd, for which I could have done without. Vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt did acknowledge maybe OPETH went a little too proggy at times, but it was the fans that set them straight on what they expect from the band. Akerfeldt was a bit too polite in trying to hear what the crowd was yelling at him in between songs. Some people were yelling to play a particular song, while others asked stupid things like have you visited any hostels in your hometown.

The rest of OPETH’s set was more or less new to me, since it focused on albums I never dove deep into such as ‘Heritage’ (2011), ‘Ghost Reveries’ (2005), ‘Blackwater Park’ (2001) (I know, I know, send your hate mail directly to me), ‘Still Life’ (1999), and ‘My Arms Your Hearse’ (1998). I recognized “To Rid The Disease” and “Deliverance” instantly. “Deliverance” was the perfect encore to close out an intense night of Swedish Progressive Metal.

There are live bands that enhance their music with eye catching visualizations and a bit of showmanship. Neither OPETH nor KATATONIA are one of those bands. They are strictly about musicianship and the music. Yes, both had video screens and lights, but it wasn’t anything special.

Without any bells and whistles so to speak, both KATATONIA and OPETH had the crowd eating out of the palms of their hands. Both bands brought power, precision, and proficiency to their performances, and the crowd in Boston showed their appreciation.

Set List

KATATONIA

OPETH