Afternoon Update
As I write this heavy snow is falling across much of southern Maine with 4-7 more inches before it’s all over before midnight. I think the end ends around 10PM in Portland and a bit later further east. The snow is very light in weight with temperatures about as cold as they get during a major snowstorm.

Morning Update
A very cold snowstorm is underway and the bottom line is many of you are going to see around a foot of snow.

The highest totals will be along the coastline, but areas from Bridgton to Oxford to Skowhegan and points south will all see a heavy snowfall.

The snow is very light and easy to move around and will continue in that form for the entire storm. If you melted the foot or more of snow after it’s over it would yield very little water. At these cold temperatures, snow is very full of air and has about half the water content the same amount of snow would have at 30F.

I’ll update the position of the heaviest snow during the storm on Twitter @growingwisdom

Winds won’t be nearly as strong as the last storm. Inland areas will have little wind at all. This afternoon they will increase along the coast and especially over the Mid-Coast where the snow can be whipped into large drifts. This will make using a snow blower more difficult with the wind.

How Much And When It Ends
The storm ends completely between roughly 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. west to east. The radar loop below (credit:WeatherBell Analytics) takes us through 8 p.m. Notice the darker blue, the heaviest snow, moves in and out. The mixed precipitation, orange colors, stays off the coast and won’t reach any of the land stations during this storm. The last areas to still be snowing will be east of Rockland.

Roof Issues
Flat roofs may or may not have a lot of snow on them from the last storm. Most of you with pitched roofs had a good deal of the snow blow off in the blizzard. While we have seen a lot of snow in the past week, the majority of us don’t have to worry about the weight of the snow. If you are concerned, give an expert a call. The snow also doesn’t have much water weight because of the cold temperatures during the storm.

Coastal Flooding
This isn’t the same type of nor’easter as last week. There could be some minor splash over, but coastal issues are not a concern for this storm.

Continued Cold, More Snow
After the storm is over the cold continues in waves. What you will notice a day or two of recovery before it becomes cold again. The next focus for snow potential is Thursday night and Friday. One model has another round of accumulating snow during this time period while other models just keep us covered in cold dry air.

We’ll have to wait a day or two to give a better forecast, but if the pattern is any indication, you already know where in which direction this is going.

Copy the Story Link