Heavy Snow — Northern Somerset, Maine

2022-02-03 to 2022-02-04 · Northern Somerset, Maine

Event narrative

Storm total snow accumulations ranged from 8 to 12 inches.

Wider weather episode

A cold front moved south across the region during the 3rd...stalling across the Gulf of Maine that evening. Intensifying low pressure tracked along the stalled front during the 4th...exiting across the Maritimes late. Precipitation began during the 3rd along the cold front. Precipitation in advance of the front was generally in the form of a light wintry mix or rain...transitioning to snow in the wake of the front. Snow began across northern areas during the evening of the 3rd...transitioning to snow southward through the evening in the wake of the cold front. Precipitation transitioned to a wintry mix of mostly sleet...along with lesser snow and freezing rain...along the Downeast coast during the early morning hours of the 4th. Precipitation intensities increased through the evening of the 3rd into the early morning hours of the 4th with overrunning in advance of the approaching low. The wintry mix then persisted along the Downeast coast through much of the 4th. Across interior Downeast areas...and northward...precipitation generally remained mostly in the form of snow. Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour occurred during the afternoon of the 4th in heavier snow bands. The low exited across the Maritimes during the evening of the 4th with precipitation ending in the wake of the low. Warning criteria snow and sleet accumulations occurred through the morning of the 4th. Storm total sleet accumulations along the Downeast coast generally ranged from 1 to 4 inches...with local totals up to around 5 inches. In addition to the sleet...snow accumulations generally ranged from 2 to 4 inches along with around a quarter inch of ice. The heaviest snow accumulations occurred in an area from southern Aroostook to central Piscataquis counties to the interior Downeast region. Snow totals diminished across northern and northwest Maine...furthest from the low and front. Storm total snow accumulations in the region from Houlton...to Greenville...to Bangor and Calais generally ranged from 12 to 17 inches. Accumulations in a region from northeast Aroostook to northern Somerset counties generally ranged from 8 to 12 inches...with 5 to 8 inches across the Saint John Valley.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1009521. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.