ELLSWORTH – A strong ocean storm threatened to dump a significant amount of snow on Down East communities Monday, convincing several school departments to cancel school.

But the heaviest of the snow stayed to the east of the Maine coast, and snow accumulations were less than predicted, most of it falling in easternmost Hancock County and coastal Washington County.

As of 1 p.m. Monday, Southwest Harbor had picked up 2.5 inches, Winter Harbor 3 inches, Cutler and Whiting 2 to 2.5 inches, and Eastport and Roque Bluffs 3.5 to 4 inches, according to initial reports to the National Weather Service in Caribou.

Inland areas saw little or no snow at all.

“The storm system developed off the mid-Atlantic coast and tracked northeast, but it stayed well south of the Gulf of Maine,” said Joseph Hewitt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Caribou. “We just got the western fringe of the storm.”

There were early reports of blowing and drifting snow, and the weather service issued a storm warning that was dropped by noon. The early warnings, however, convinced officials in several school districts and the University of Maine at Machias to cancel classes for the day.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Department reported two vehicles had slid off the road during the storm, but no damage or injuries were reported.

rhewitt@bangordailynews.net

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