First Nor’easter of the Season Leaves 280,000 Power Outages, Treacherous Roads in Its Wake

Wire Service
By Wire Service
December 6, 2020Weather
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First Nor’easter of the Season Leaves 280,000 Power Outages, Treacherous Roads in Its Wake
Fresh snow from a winter storm covers hundreds of sapling and growing fir trees that line a field at Harrod Tree Farm in Shirley, Mass. on Dec. 6, 2020. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

Strong winds and heavy wet snow from the season’s first nor’easter rolled through the northeast, dumping more than a foot of snow in some areas and knocking out power for over 200,000 in New England.

“A lot of the storms’ precipitation initially fell as heavy rain but it quickly changed to snow once the cold air ushered in behind it. Strong winds accompanied the heavy, wet snow that fell,” CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said. “Not an ideal situation considering the treacherous conditions that have been left in the storms’ wake.”

The most severe impacts were felt in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Shapleigh, Maine, and Derry, New Hampshire, saw around 8 inches of snow while Paxton, Massachusetts, received 12.5 inches.

Across the three states, there were more than 280,000 power outages early Sunday morning, according to PowerOutage.US, including nearly 218,000 outages in Maine.

“This nor’easter was a significant snow, wind, and rain event but could have been debilitating if temperatures were just a few degrees cooler at the start of the storm,” Van Dam said.

Precipitation around Boston was winding down as the season’s first nor’easter turned towards Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Van Dam said, bringing rain and winds with gusts up to 50 mph.

Travel is Not Advised

The region is now navigating “treacherous roads and widespread power outages,” the National Weather Service in Portland/Gray Maine said on Twitter Saturday night.

The NWS warned against traveling by the late afternoon Saturday as blowing snow and gusty winds could reduce visibility greatly.

The service reiterated the point later in the day, warning New England residents not to crowd snow plows moving through the area “or better yet, stay home altogether.”

Power lines can also pose a danger, NWS tweeted.

“Very Important Reminder from @versantpower this morning. ‘Never touch a downed power line or a tree in contact with a downed line. Motorists are urged to slow down or move over and change lanes, when possible, if approaching utility crews working on roadways,” the tweet said.

Crews will be working to address the damage from the storm, beginning with downed electrical lines and then restoration efforts, Versant Power tweeted.

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