Boston Globe suspends Tuesday print production and delivery as blizzard makes travel and distribution unsafe

First full print cancellation since the paper’s founding

The Boston Globe did not produce a print edition for Tuesday, Feb. 24, after a powerful blizzard left large parts of eastern Massachusetts under heavy snow and high winds, disrupting travel across the region. The decision meant home delivery was suspended for the morning and single-copy sales at retail locations were unavailable.

Boston Globe Media executives said conditions on Monday made it impossible to safely staff the printing operation and complete distribution routes. The paper is printed in Taunton, an area that was hit with some of the storm’s most intense snowfall and difficult road conditions.

What subscribers can expect

Print subscribers were told they would receive Tuesday’s edition on Wednesday, Feb. 25, bundled with the regularly scheduled Wednesday paper. Digital publication continued as normal, with stories available online even as print production was halted.

• No Tuesday morning home delivery for print subscribers.
• No single-copy newspapers available in retail outlets on Tuesday.
• Tuesday’s print edition slated for delivery on Wednesday alongside the Wednesday edition.

Storm conditions disrupted staffing and the “last mile” of delivery

The Globe said the central issue was safety: travel to the Taunton facility and, even if printing could be completed, the ability to move newspapers through snow-covered roads for distribution. Executives described uncertainty not only about assembling a press crew but also about whether trucks could reliably reach neighborhoods to complete deliveries.

Monday’s storm also degraded service before Tuesday’s cancellation. The Globe reported that only about a quarter of Monday papers reached subscribers, reflecting how quickly conditions outpaced normal contingency planning.

A rare operational break in a long-running daily cycle

The Globe’s leadership characterized the cancellation as unprecedented in the publication’s more than 150-year history of daily printing. While production was halted during certain labor strikes in the mid-20th century, the paper said it has historically continued press runs through major weather events, including the Blizzard of 1978, even when distribution could not be completed.

In prior storms, Globe staff have printed limited runs despite severe disruption, but this blizzard prevented both staffing the press and safely executing delivery routes.

Broader regional impacts: closures and service pauses

The blizzard’s effects extended well beyond newspaper delivery. Heavy snowfall and hazardous travel conditions led to widespread closures across Greater Boston, including cancellations of in-person activities at major institutions. Some delivery-based businesses also paused operations during the height of the storm, reflecting the broader challenge of keeping workers and drivers off dangerous roads while cleanup continued.

As cleanup progresses and travel restrictions ease, the Globe’s plan to resume normal print operations on Wednesday will test whether road conditions and distribution capacity have stabilized enough to restore routine service after the storm’s peak.