Snowy enough for ya? New storm blows in

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PORTLAND – The new year kicked off the way the old year ended – with more snow.

A new storm moved into northern New England on Tuesday with people still digging out from Monday’s storm, which dumped more than a foot of snow across parts of the region.

Forecasters were expecting the storm to last into today and leave up to a foot of snow in parts of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

The heaviest snowfall was expected overnight, with clearing to begin late this morning or early this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou.

Blowing and drifting snow could cause problems for drivers during the early-morning hours, forecasters warned.

The Legislature delayed until 1 p.m. today its first session in 2008. The federal courts in Bangor and Portland won’t open until 10 a.m.

The Bangor area was expected to accumulate between 8 and 14 inches of snow before the storm ends.

Sleet was expected to mix with snow overnight along the coast, where 6 to 10 inches were predicted to accumulate.

Less snow was forecast for Aroostook County. Between 2 and 4 inches were expected in the St. John Valley, while 3 to 7 inches were forecast in Presque Isle and Caribou.

The latest storm came on the heels of a December to remember, when the region got more snow than it had seen in decades.

Monday’s snowfall brought December’s total for Bangor to 42 inches, shy of the record 51 inches set in 1927. The total in Concord, N.H., was 441/2 inches, breaking the old mark of 43 inches set in 1876. Portland got 37.7 inches for the month, making it the third-snowiest December on record and the snowiest since 1970. Burlington, Vt., got 45.7 inches, far above the 17.2-inch average for the month.

The deep snows have made for lots of shoveling, stretched municipal snowplowing budgets and put road salt in short supply. But it has also made for ideal winter sport conditions.

James Krams, 30, of Portland has already gone snowboarding 13 times this season. People should get out and enjoy the snow rather than complain about it, he said.

“This is New England and not Florida. You bought snow tires for [a] reason,” said Krams, who moved to Maine from Long Island, N.Y., eight years ago. “I moved here for the mountains. It’s a winter paradise right now.”

The string of storms has put a fiscal pinch on towns and states as they go through their road sand and salt, and burn through their road-clearing budgets.

In New Hampshire, Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Boynton said the state spent about $1 million on overtime for plowing in the first three weeks of December, and has already spent $30 million of the $75 million budgeted for the entire winter.

“It’s definitely starting to take a toll on our budget,” he said.

But the snow is also a boon to the region’s businesses that rely on snow.

Ski resorts were enjoying the flurry of storms after last year’s lack of snow early in the season. Maine’s two biggest ski resorts, Sugarloaf USA and Sunday River, each got around 6 feet of snow last month.

Sunday River in Newry received 74 inches of snow in December, with measurable snow falling 17 days.

Sugarloaf, located in Carrabassett Valley, got 70 inches for the month, with snow falling on 13 days.

“It’s been unbelievable,” Sugarloaf spokesman Bill Swain said. “It just keeps coming.”

At the Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, Vt., which in the winter caters to families looking to enjoy the snow, the early – and continuing – storms are assuring a turnaround from the brown December and early January of last season.

“It makes the world of a difference,” said the inn’s Karen Wilson, who was busy Tuesday checking out some guests while preparing to welcome others. “This January will probably be a completely different scenario.”

Tuesday’s storm caused travel problems, and the timing virtually assured that there would be a messy commute, travel disruptions and school cancellations today.

Larry Dodge, a dispatcher for the Vermont Transportation Agency, said as the snow started to fall Tuesday that cars were skidding off Interstate 89 between the Canadian border and White River Junction.

But the plow drivers were rested and ready to push away the snow from the new storm. “This is going to be a long one,” Dodge said.

After the storm moves away, extreme cold will move into the region Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures are expected to moderate Friday before reaching into the 30s for the weekend.

BDN staff writer Judy Harrison and Associated Press writers Clarke Canfield in Portland, Wilson Ring in Montpelier, Vt., and Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., contributed to this report.