While the rest of us dig out, skiers are celebrating.
The winter storm that pummeled New England over the weekend broke Maine’s 100-year-old snowfall record for early December.
“This is bigger than any other storm since records began in 1882,” said Tom Hawley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The service, which gauges snowfall records by Portland totals, said Portland got 13.7 inches of snow over Dec. 6 and 7. The second largest early snowfall was on Dec. 4, 1901, when a storm dumped 11 inches on the city.
During this weekend’s storm, Portland got off light.
Auburn and Gray recorded 17.5 inches; Rumford, 30 inches; and Farmington and Rangeley each got 41 inches – more than 3 feet.
It was enough snow to surprise Dennis Pike of Farmington, who has served as a weather observer for the National Weather Service since 1966.
“We were receiving here 2 inches per hour,” he said. “This is the storm of the century, the 100-year storm.”
That was good news for schoolchildren in Farmington, Rumford, Oxford and other western Maine towns. They got a day off from school Monday.
And it was good news for skiers. Saddleback Mountain got 52 inches and Sugarloaf got 48, a fact it touted on its Web site Monday.
“All you can hear on the chair lift is cheers of joy. It’s been quite the party atmosphere on the slopes, definitely an early Christmas present for Sugarloafers,” said spokesman Bill Swain via e-mail.
The storm wasn’t good news for drivers, however. Maine State Police were kept busy all day Sunday with minor accidents, most on the highways.
“Once people were able to shovel out, they hit the road,” said State Police Sgt. Kevin Conger.
Speed limits on the Maine Turnpike were reduced to 45 mph throughout the storm. By early Monday morning officials returned them to normal.
Stores said the winter storm made for sluggish Christmas sales over the weekend. But Jim McGregor at the Maine Merchants Association is optimistic that the snow will put shoppers in the holiday mood for weeks.
“There’s a real school of thought in retail, especially in Maine, that you need snow to get people in the mood, to get them shopping,” he said. “It’s part of life with retailing in northern New England, weather and snow.”
ltice@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.