The armistice in the winter parking wars of South Boston had lasted for almost three seasons, an unspoken truce caused by mild temperatures and scant snowfall. The orange cones and broken beach chairs remained in basements and trunks, unneeded to save parking spots because cars did not need to digging out.

But earlier this week, as blizzard warnings sounded across the Northeast, a different type of alarm swept across Southie. People began parking their cars, staking a claim on a patch of asphalt long before a single flake had fallen.