Blizzard — Interior Waldo, Maine

2017-03-14 · Interior Waldo, Maine

Wider weather episode

An area of low pressure over the central U.S. on the morning of the 13th intensified rapidly as it moved east to the Delmarva Peninsula by the morning of the 14th, and then continued to intensify as it moved northeast along the East Coast through the morning of the 15th. The storm brought heavy snow to all of western Maine with high winds leading to blizzard or near blizzard conditions from the coast to the mountains. High winds and/or heavy wet snow downed trees and created numerous power outages across coastal York County.

Snow began around 9 am in the southwestern corner of the State on the 14th and spread northeast during the day. By 4 pm, snow was falling across all of western Maine. The snow became very heavy during the afternoon and evening. Winds also increased during the afternoon and evening leading to blizzard conditions in parts of the State. The following reporting sites officially observed more than 3 hours of blizzard conditions: Portland (12:30 pm ' 8:51 pm), Augusta (3:29 pm ' 9:53 pm), Rockland (2:56 pm to 5:56 pm and Waterville (4:56 pm to 8:35 pm). The heaviest snow tapered off in southwestern Maine during the evening, and ended across the reminder of western Maine by midnight.. Gusty winds and blowing snow persisted into the overnight for the entire State.

Snowfall amounts across western Maine ranged from about 12 to 20 inches. Much of the snow in any given area fell during about a six-hour window with weather spotters reporting snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 688549. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.