A winter weather advisory quickly upgraded to a blizzard warning for much of coastal and central Maine on Sunday with a winter storm warning encompassing the rest of the state.
According to the National Weather Service, snow is scheduled to arrive as early as 4 a.m. Tuesday with wind chills of around five below zero. Early commuters can look forward to north winds of 10 to 15 mph and 3 to 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground.
Snow is expected throughout the day, heavy at times, with blustery winds of 20 mph, gusting as high as 30 mph and wind chills of six below. Further inland, toward Rumford and Rangeley, temperatures will remain low but wind will be less of a factor.
Accumulations should be between 18 and 24 inches with areas of blowing and drifting snow.
It’s not all bad news though; as many will bemoan the process of digging out and clearing rooftops, children are looking forward to a Tuesday off.
Over at Lost Valley, owner Connie King sees opportunity.
“Bring it on, Mother Nature,” King said Sunday. With snow guns working full time Sunday night and the promise of another two feet of fresh snow, Lost Valley is poised to have all of it’s trails open for the season.
“We are going to be golden!” King said.
Eric Rohrbach of New Gloucester had been lamenting a lackluster winter for snow. Rohrbach, who enjoys skijoring with his dogs Tex and Larry, commented, “I’m thrilled to death — bring it on!”
Fred Bean of Auburn said he went to Hannaford around 4 p.m. and reported conditions as “not terrible.”
“Tomorrow, the panic will set in and the stores will be crazy — and not the good kind of crazy, but rather the kind of crazy where a stranger will offer to wrestle you for a loaf of bread,” he said.
dmcintire@sunjournal.com
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