If you’ve been to Boston recently, or have seen pictures of the snow, you might be imagining spectators at next month’s Boston Marathon sitting atop snow banks to watch the race. The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is hoping that Boston’s snow and ice will be long gone by April 20, but the organization is discussing contingency plans, in case it is not.

“The weather has been the number one topic in Boston and New England for the past month and likewise it is at the top of our list in planning for the 2015 B.A.A. Boston Marathon,” race director Dave McGillivray said in a statement to Runner's World Newswire.

One of the organization’s biggest areas of concern is the condition of the athletic fields behind Hopkinton High School and Middle School. Those fields house the athletes’ village on race day.

“Even if the snow is gone, we need the fields to be dry,” McGillivray said. “Luckily, those fields do drain well. We will be keeping a watchful eye on it, along with the Hopkinton schools’ facility managers. The same goes for Copley Square Park and the Boston Common.”

Boston-area meteorologist Dave Epstein believes that snow is unlikely to be a problem by April 20. He predicts that the majority of it will be gone by the last few days of March or first few days of April.

“As long as it’s a typical, or even a slightly colder than typical March, the snow will just melt,” Epstein said. “The last two weeks of March and that first week of April, the sun’s so strong, it just will go.”

Epstein says that the last four to five inches always take the longest because they are compacted, but any time the temperature is 40 degrees or higher, the area will see productive melting.

Some of the larger piles of snow could still be around on Patriots’ Day, but the B.A.A. says they're prepared.

“In the remote case that some snow still remains, we may need to clear some specific locations where we set up our hydration and medical stations,” McGillivray said in his statement.

Even if Boston gets more snow, the B.A.A. is confident for now that they have it covered.

“Everyone is working hard at staying on track and maintaining our event timeline,” McGillivray said. “We remain confident that we will be ready to go on Patriots’ Day.”

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