LEWISTON – Snow got you down? Here’s a vision for you: Springlike conditions. Nothing but sunshine and temperatures flirting with 50 degrees.

It’s more than just a snow day fantasy. Smack dab in the middle of a winter storm Thursday, forecasters were saying that next week is going to be glorious.

It’s hard to picture when your car is stuck in the slush at the end of the driveway, but it’s true. Starting Wednesday, temperatures are expected to begin to climb and there isn’t a snow storm in sight.

“It will be at least in the mid-40s by the middle of the week,” said meteorologist Chris Kimble, at the National Weather Service in Gray.

But until then, snow and plenty of it.

Mainers on Thursday endured an all-day storm that dropped a half foot of snow in most areas. As promised, it was a slow-motion event, with snow starting just after midnight and still falling long after nightfall.

Schools closed and city plows were out all day long, but for the most part, the storm was low on drama. Police at area departments said there were very few problems in terms of crashes of vehicles off roads.

In the Lewiston area, six-and-a-half inches of fresh snow had fallen by early evening. Just over a half foot was recorded across Oxford County, while York and Cumberland counties, closer to the coast, received as much as 11 inches.

Nine inches were recorded in Turner, just over eight in Durham.

The good news for those who had to shovel was that the snow stayed light and fluffy throughout the day instead of mixing with rain and turning to back-breaking slush.

That kind of snow pleased the skiers, as well, such as those in charge of the trails at Sunday River Ski Area.

“Powder day!” raved the daily report. “We’ve added eight inches today to the eight inches we received this past weekend and it’s still coming down hard! All good news, but the great news is that this snow is dry and fluffy. You can’t even think about making a snowball with it! Old Man Winter is just sitting over us and making it snow while keeping the warmer temps at bay. It’s possible he’s trying to show Mother Nature a thing or two about how one should behave in the wintertime.”