A late Christmas snowstorm hit Aroostook County on Sunday evening, dropping as much as 11/2 feet of snow in some communities by Monday morning and, according to a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Caribou, some areas could see as much as 3 feet of snow before the storm ends.

“We’re not aware of any records just yet,” meteorologist Mark Bloomer said Monday morning. “Right now snowfall amounts across the north and around central Aroostook are averaging about 14 to 16 inches.”

Bloomer said that a low-pressure area from the southwest and a high-pressure system above Quebec are causing the large amounts of snow.

“The storm system is pulling moist air up from the south and the high-pressure system is pushing colder air from the north,” Bloomer said. “When you have those two combining in the right way, you end up with a lot of snowfall.

“We’re looking at another 1 to 2 feet of snow possible in northern Aroostook County,” he said. “We could get places that could approach 3 feet of snow.”

According to reports from public safety officials, snowfall amounts were greater in the north. In southern Aroostook communities such as Houlton, officials reported a total of about 3 inches.

“It snowed hard for a few hours here and then changed to rain,” a Houlton dispatcher said Monday morning.

By midmorning, freezing rain was hitting communities such as Presque Isle, where officials reported that about a foot of snow had fallen.

“Everything’s been plowed and sanded twice, but it’s still a little slippery,” Gerry James, the city’s highway department director, said Monday.

James said his crews were out by 1 p.m. Christmas Day plowing and by 2:30 a.m. Monday.

“Traffic hasn’t been too bad. I think everyone realized how much snow there is. People are having a tough time getting out of their driveways,” James said.

The precipitation turned back to snow by midafternoon. James said his crews would be out all night if the forecast – which predicts snow until Tuesday morning – is accurate.

“This storm’s not too bad. It’s just the first bad one of the season,” James said with a chuckle. “It’s a good start to the winter.”

In more northern communities such as Caribou and Fort Kent, officials reported heavy snowfall, as much as 11/2 feet, with more on the way. A Caribou dispatcher said Monday afternoon that police were patrolling the city in the Fire Department’s four-wheel-drive pickup truck because of poor road conditions. A Madawaska dispatcher said visibility was poor and that though the department had received no calls about traffic problems, a snowplow had gone off the road there.

“We hope everyone’s staying home,” a dispatcher with the Fort Kent Police Department said Monday. “It’s deep, and it’s snowing like crazy.”

In other areas of Aroostook County, police officials said the snowfall was not causing many traffic problems. Police in Caribou and Presque Isle each reported a few cars sliding off the roads since Sunday night.

“We’ve had two cars off the road today,” a dispatcher with the Maine State Police said Monday. “I think where it’s a holiday, people are staying home.”

A dispatcher with the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department pointed out that because many people were observing the Christmas holiday Monday, the department expected less traffic than usual, “which should keep things to a minimum.”

Some in The County were enjoying another “bright side” of the storm. According to Travis Kearney, general manager at Big Rock Ski Area in Mars Hill, skiers were lined up at the slopes before the place opened.

“This is really going to set us up for the best Christmas break we’ve had in five to six years,” Kearney said Monday.

According to operations manager Ryan Guerrette, the days between Christmas and New Year’s account for about 30 percent of the ski area’s business for the year. The late Christmas snowfall will allow Big Rock to open up 100 percent of its skiing trails within the next few days, he said.

Until now, only about 25 percent of the area’s terrain has been open for use. Guerrette pointed out that it would take workers about three to four weeks of solid snowmaking to equal the 8 inches of snow dropped on the mountain.

“The rain and sleet are actually helping us,” Kearney said. “If we get winds, the snow won’t blow off. The rain will help pack the snow down and make a good, solid base. This heavy, wet snow is the best snow we could possibly get.”

Back at the National Weather Service office, Bloomer said the storm should wind down by Tuesday morning and that the area would not see more snowfall for at least a few days.

“There is a system coming in Friday, but it looks like it may be a warmer system, maybe rain or drizzle,” he said. “I’m not sure what this one is doing just yet.”