New England battles a mix of wind, rain, sleet and heavy snow
BOSTON — It may officially be spring, but New England was battling a wintry weather combination across the region Saturday with more than a foot of snow expected in ski country, and rain, wind and possible flooding in southern areas and along the coast.
In Maine the National Weather Service warned of a treacherous travel day with an increase in ice forming inland from the coast, on top of snow or sleet that had already fallen.
Farther inland forecasters called for anywhere from 1 to 2 feet (30 to 61 centimeters) of snow across the mountains in western Maine and areas north and in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, according to Maura Casey, a lead forecaster for the weather service, based out of Gray Maine.
In the lakes region of New Hampshire up to Maine totals were expected to be somewhat lower at 6 inches up to a foot (15 to 30 centimeters) with sleet and freezing rain mixing in.
“There’s a pretty steep cutoff with lower amounts near the coast and higher amounts in the mountains,” Casey said.
Across Connecticut, New York City, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, the storm was expected to remain largely a rain event, with some freezing precipitation in the earlier part of the day in western and central Massachusetts before turning to all rain.
The heaviest rain was expected in the late afternoon and evening spreading across Connecticut and western and central Massachusetts from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and across Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The rain could linger over Cape Cod and Nantucket until midnight.
“Overnight dry weather will give way to sunshine,” said Frank Nocera, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Norton, Massachusetts. Despite the sun, Sunday was expected to be blustery with temperatures chillier than average for late March, he said.
Fans of skiing welcomed the snowfall.
At Loon Mountain in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, skiers were looking forward to the 12 to 20 inches (30 to 51 centimeters) of new snow the storm was expected to drop on top of a foot (30 centimeters) earlier this week.
“The storm is great. It’s brought a lot of skiers out to the mountain today,” said Kevin Bell, vice president of marketing for the resort. “This could be the biggest snow we’ll see all year. It sets us up for a really good spring. The more snow New England gets, the better for us.”
The Mount Washington Avalanche Center issued an avalanche warning along the White Mountain’s Presidential Range until 7 a.m. Sunday.
