PORTLAND, Maine — 3:40 p.m. Tuesday Update: The storm is beginning to get stronger and will max out tonight as low pressure "bombs out" in the Gulf of Maine. Snowfall rates will increase to more than 1 inch per hour and visibility will go down.
--Jason
A strong mid-level, cut-off low is barreling to the east coast spinning up a surface low off the East Coast. That low will bomb out as it enters the New England waters where it will get trapped beneath the mid-level low, lashing the northeast with wind and snow for almost two days before escaping into the North Atlantic later on Wednesday and Thursday.
It will leave behind power outages and close to a foot of snow in some towns in Maine.
Rain and snow showers will move in Tuesday morning and change to all snow quickly. The storm really cranks and peaks Tuesday afternoon and evening when most of the accumulation is expected.
Overnight, as the storm weakens, heavy snow bands will fall apart. Although snow showers will linger into Wednesday, only minor accumulation will occur at that point.
Here's a look at the timeline:
Almost the entire life cycle of this storm will occur in the Gulf of Maine within a few miles of our coastline. As the storm ramps up Tuesday afternoon, the atmosphere will get stretched and pulled leading to intense banding.
Within any snow band, snow rates of 1-2 inches per hour can be expected. This will continue through late Tuesday evening. However, as the storm decays and fills in, drier air will work in and holes and slots in the steady snow will develop.
Because of all this, I think we are going to have a big range in snowfall amounts. Some towns will struggle to get 6 inches. While others, maybe not far away, get quite a bit more.
Power outages are on the table, too. Winds will peak Tuesday afternoon and evening and could gust over 50 miles per hour out of the northeast.
Keep checking back for updates throughout the day.
- Todd
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