Winter Storm — Central Interior Cumberland, Maine

2022-01-17 · Central Interior Cumberland, Maine

Event narrative

Strong warm air advection forced a laterally translating band of snow into western Maine early in the morning of the 17th. Within a couple hours snow was moderate to heavy, especially for the interior. Snowfall rates were near 1 inch per hour for two or three hours leading up to mid morning. Closer to the coast mild temperatures resulted in only a brief period of snow. The dry slot and warmer mid level temperatures were only about 6 to 8 hours behind the onset of snow, and especially quick to move into eastern areas. Snow changed over to or mixed with some sleet and freezing rain before ending in the afternoon. Snowfall totals ranged from 2 or 3 inches near I-295 to 9 inches near Sebago Lake.

Wider weather episode

On the 16th low pressure formed over the Gulf Coast and began to lift northeast. The low continued to track along the East Coast and strengthen until eventually occluding near Chesapeake Bay late in the evening on the 16th. The low continued deepening into central New York where it ultimately got picked up by the next trough and moved northeast. Ahead of the warm front a strong low level jet developed and brought a round of moderate to heavy precipitation to western Maine on the 17th. The strongest forcing moved so quickly that mixed precipitation across the interior did not last for a significant amount of time before coming to an end.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 997998. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.