JOHN WOODCOCK stands next to a near empty aisle of snow shovels at a hardware store Wednesday in Falmouth. After three snowstorms in a week, residents doing battle with the flakes were running short of supplies as another winter storm arrived in Maine and New Hampshire.
Maine and New Hampshire residents faced the prospect of more than a foot of snow after a week of storms left accumulations up 58 inches in Jonesboro and 50 inches in Eastport, both in Maine.
New Hampshire officials warned that heavy snow and ice buildup could put roofs in danger of collapse, and Fire Marshal William Degnan urged property owners to clear snow and ice from chimneys and vents to prevent carbon monoxide buildup.
Amid the warnings, some stores were running low on snow blowers, shovels and roof rakes.
At Ace Hardware Store in Falmouth, Maine, the rakes-and-shovels aisle was empty except for four pink shovels.
“This was full of shovels before the big blizzard came. Within a day or two, it was pretty much like this — wiped right out,” store worker Mark Dwyer said, referring to Monday’s blizzard.
At Mainely Small Engines, in Westbrook, Maine, Randy Shaffer had bad news for customers with broken snow blowers: His mechanics were backed up three to four weeks. Amid a cacophony of engines and incessantly ringing telephones, customers desperately sought his counsel.
“It’s us who has the desperation, as a rule,” he joked. “We’re just trying to do what we can do. With the phones ringing off the wall, and us backed up for service, they have to wait in line.”
The forecast called for 10 inches of snow for most of Maine and part of New Hampshire before the storm ends Thursday morning, John Jensenius of the National Weather Service said. Some cities — Fryeburg and Bridgton in Maine and Conway in New Hampshire — may get covered over by up to 20 inches.
Portland, Maine, could see another 10 inches after accumulations of 34.1 inches over the seven-day stretch, he said. Manchester, New Hampshire, may get about 6 inches of snow.
The good news is next week’s forecast is storm-free.
“We’ve got a nice break where there are no big storms through late next week — or longer,” said Mal Walker of the weather service in Caribou, Maine.
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