Christmas night storm clobbers Maine

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A powerful winter storm swept into Maine on Christmas as the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for the eastern part of the state and warned of snowfall as deep as 18 inches in places.

The weather service said the storm would cause blizzard conditions in Hancock and Washington counties with heavy snow, winds up to 45 mph and whiteout conditions.

Total snow accumulation was expected to be 12 to 16 inches before ending this morning.

The punch is coming from a storm that killed 14 people earlier this week.

The storm, which began in the nation’s midsection, crept up the East Coast after dumping snow on the Midwest and Plains.

In Maine on Wednesday, the weather service called the storm dangerous, with significant travel hazards over eastern and central Maine.

In southern Maine, forecasters were predicting snow accumulations of 12 to 18 inches. Central Maine was expected to get 7 to 13 inches, while northern Maine was expected to get a lesser amount.

“It looks like a pretty healthy storm,” said Art Lester, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Gray.

The office had no records listing Christmas Day snowfalls in Portland, but Lester said this storm surely would rank as one of the biggest in memory for Dec. 25.

He recalled a Christmas storm in 1978 in which Portland was hit with 7 inches of snow while inland sections got a lot more.

Highway departments and public works crews were mobilizing plowing crews and equipment for what was shaping up as the season’s biggest snowfall thus far.

At least four communities – Lewiston, Biddeford, Saco and Kennebunk – declared parking bans in order to clear the streets for the plows.

The storm made for a white Christmas for much of the state. But for people in northern Maine, a white Christmas was already a reality and was not dependent on the path of the latest storm.

“We have about 6 inches still on the ground,” said Victor Nouhan of the weather service in Caribou, noting that Aroostook County has had no shortage of snow this season.

Regionally, the heaviest snow was expected in Albany, N.Y., western and central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, with up to 20 inches expected by sunrise Thursday. Around a foot of snow was expected in Vermont and parts of Pennsylvania.

“It’s nice for the kids. I can take it either way as long as we don’t get too much snow,” said Ron Rieseberg, owner of Rainbow Cabins and Motel in Catskill, N.Y. “Six or 8 inches would be nice but 2 feet’s a little too much.”

For Albany, which had just a light coating Wednesday morning and heavier snow in the afternoon, it was the first snowy Dec. 25 since 1985.

“Everybody’s ready for it,” said Jamie Georgelos, a manager at Alpin Haus ski shop in Amsterdam, about 30 miles northwest of Albany. “I think a lot of people have been missing the snow for the past few years, and they’re really glad it’s finally here.”

The bad weather also arrived in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey.

By midafternoon, road conditions had deteriorated significantly on several major Massachusetts highways as snow and rain fell.

“We’ve got a mess out here,” said Trooper James Ryan at the Westfield barracks in western Massachusetts. “Cars are sliding all over the place.”

Snow was expected to fall in parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire at the rate of 3 inches an hour for a few hours, bringing near-whiteout conditions, Drag said.

“If you’re safe inside and not on the roads … then it’s going to be a winter wonderland,” Drag said. “If you’re out traveling about, you’re not going to be happy.”

To the west, Pittsburgh had about an inch, and areas just south of the city had 6 inches. Snow also fell on northern Ohio and Indiana, where Indianapolis had a record snowfall of 7.6 inches.

“It’s the most snow ever on the ground on Christmas Day,” said meteorologist John Ogren, noting the previous record of 6 inches in 1909.

To the south, Baltimore saw a mix of steady rain and sleet replaced by midmorning Wednesday with cottonball-size flakes of swirling snow that turned to thick slush as it hit the ground. Slush forced officials at Baltimore-Washington International Airport to temporarily close the two major runways. Six inches fell on parts of western Maryland.

The storm brought snow Monday to Texas and Oklahoma, which got more than a foot in some areas. Oklahoma City had its first white Christmas in 27 years.

“I think it makes Christmas better,” said 17-year-old Stevie Williams. “It makes it feel more like Christmas.”

The storm brought 15 inches of snow to parts of Kansas by Tuesday morning, and parts of southwest Missouri in the Ozarks had 14 inches.

The system moved east Tuesday night, from the Midwest into Pennsylvania, New York and New England. It reformed Wednesday off the East Coast as a nor’easter.

Most of the deaths stemmed from traffic accidents. Since Monday, six people have been killed in Missouri, four in Oklahoma, three in Kansas and one in New Mexico.

In Fitchburg, Mass., workers began sanding the roads in anticipation of 15 inches of snow. Despite working on the holiday, they were upbeat.

“It’s public safety, so it doesn’t bother me that way. We keep things safe out there for the people,” said dispatcher Bob Lafountain. “The family might even bring me down a plate of food.”