Winter Storm — Northern Franklin, Maine

2024-04-03 to 2024-04-04 · Northern Franklin, Maine

Event narrative

Snow overspread the area during the evening of the 3rd, heavy at times overnight into the morning of the 4th. The western Maine Mountains were far enough north to be well into the colder portions of the storm, and despite the late season winter event, temperatures remained at or below freezing. Only isolated power outages occurred due to snowfall amounts, especially near the Rangeley-Stratton Range. Snowfall totals ranged from 8 to 12 inches. Key Impacts: Heavy snow, isolated power outages (500), transportation delays.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure tracked trough the Mid Mississippi Valley on the 2nd to the southern tip of Lake Michigan, bringing a swath of heavy snow to parts of the Upper Midwest. High pressure building to the north of the storm forced it to stall and loop near Lake Michigan as the system became occluded. Early on the 3rd a strong cold air wedge was developing east of the Appalachians, and near this triple point a secondary low pressure center began to deepen. By the evening of the 3rd this was the dominant low center, and precipitation spread over New England as it tracked through Chesapeake Bay. The storm deepened further and occluded south of New England. Despite the calendar date, temperatures dropped into the low to mid 30s for most of northern New England, and a heavy, wet snow fell through the 4th. Low pressure meandered through the Gulf of Maine into the 5th, but the majority of the accumulating snowfall ended by the evening of the 4th. The storm ended up bringing a prolonged period of heavy snow that caused major power outages with thousands and thousands of downed trees along with countless snapped branches.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1175305. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.