Some residents in Maine are digging out from the heaviest single snowstorm of the season after over half a foot of snow fell in the suburbs north of Portland to Lewiston Tuesday – not an exceptional snowstorm by New England standards, but this winter, it ranks among the top.
The White Mountains of New Hampshire picked up as much as nine inches of fresh powder while farther south, mixed snow and rain left moisture on the roads for some central New England ice Wednesday morning, but most areas farther south stayed above freezing and now an increasing wind has been quickly drying the roads and sidewalks.
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Wind will be one of the defining characteristics of our Wednesday, with gusts to 45 mph at times, carrying dry air into New England for another distinguishing characteristic of the day: sun!
In the mountains, one more upper level disturbance is slated to drop overhead out of Canada, meaning Wednesday morning snow showers will crop up before sun breaks through again.
Although the wind may knock out power here and there, widespread damage isn’t expected but it will result in wind chill values about 10 degrees colder than actual temperatures.
The breeze stays busy overnight Wednesday, though not nearly as strong as daytime Wednesday, but will continue to build cold air into New England and that cold air remains in place with a winter chill both Thursday and Friday as the wind quiets noticeably.
U.S. & World
A huge area of high pressure – fair weather – will sprawl across the eastern two-thirds of the United States at the end of this week, locking in mostly dry weather for the Northeast all the way through the weekend, making Wednesday evening or Thursday a great time to wash the car and setting up some incredible weather for enjoying winter sports – either in the cold temperatures with firm snow on ski trails Thursday and Friday, or softer snow in milder conditions Saturday and Sunday.
Next week, a weather pattern featuring a fast-moving, storm-steering jet stream wind overhead returns to New England, raising the chance for showers of rain south and snow or rain north, but likely to come with above normal temperatures for most of the week in our exclusive First Alert 10-day forecast.
