Residents throughout New Hampshire and Maine woke up on Good Friday morning to a blanket of snow far more customary for January than April.
An early-spring snowstorm had painted much of New England in such a wintry picture after Thursday night's storm, which has the potential to strengthen even further into a bomb cyclone.
The National Weather Service recorded over a foot of snow in nearly 50 locations, almost all of which were in Maine. In New Hampshire, the areas of Pittsburg, Jefferson and Berlin all recorded over 6 inches.
After Bangor, Maine, recorded one of the least snowy stretches in its history, the storm dumped nearly 8 inches of snow on the city according to a NWS spotter at Bangor International Airport. AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson previously noted that the city averaged less than 4 inches of snow in April most years.
Photos shared by the nearby Dover-Foxcroft police department depicted just how heavily the snow weighed down trees and power lines.
Winter storm warnings were in place for northeastern New England throughout Thursday along with a coastal flood advisory for southern Maine. By Thursday night, over 150,000 Maine residents lost power and that figure has climbed to over 260,000 through Friday morning due to a combination of high tide and a storm surge.
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Maine Gov. Janet Mills closed the state government offices in response to the slick road conditions caused by the storm.
"With heavy, wet snow causing dangerous driving conditions and power outages, I am closing State government offices," Mills said in a statement. "I thank all Maine people for rising to the new challenge of a spring snowstorm in the middle of a pandemic by staying at home and traveling only when absolutely necessary so our first responders and road crews can work safely."
The Maine Turnpike reduced speed limits to 45 mph by request of the State Police on Friday. The Maine Department of Transportation asked drivers to stay off the roads for plows to work uninhibited.
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| Snow plows hit the road in April after a storm blanketed much of Maine on Thursday night. (Twitter/@MaineDOT1) |
In southern New England, a wind advisory in Massachusetts was in effect on Friday morning for winds over 50 mph in areas such as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
Coastal flooding forced lane closures on Morrissey Blvd. in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston on Thursday afternoon. Shortly after, Beach Road in Salisbury, Mass., was also closed to due coastal flooding.
Hail reports trickled in from Rhode Island and Massachusetts throughout Thursday afternoon and evening as well.
As the storm system continues to move north through Canada into New Brunswick and Quebec, there is the potential for it to develop into a bomb cyclone. According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowksi, a bomb cyclone is a storm that strengthens so rapidly that the central barometric pressure plummets by 0.71 of an inch of mercury or more in 24 hours.
"The lake-effect snow machine will fire up as this system moves out to the Atlantic Ocean on Friday. A general 1-3 inches of snowfall is expected off the typical snow belts of lakes Erie and Ontario into Friday evening," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said. "Following the exit of the storm on Friday and the end of lake-effect snow by Friday night, dry conditions are anticipated across much of the area for Easter weekend."
