As we prepare to buckle down for what appears to be the biggest snow storm of the season, here are a few things you need to know about this storm.  Let me remind you, it's snow...you've all done this before.  We are in Maine.

The snow begins in southwestern Maine well before sunrise on Tuesday. Therefore, preparations for this nor'easter should be completed by Monday evening. Travel plans should be changed to be completed on Monday or postponed until Thursday, given the length of the storm and the time it will take to clean up.  Snow will persist through the entire day on Tuesday and gradually wrap up on Wednesday morning.  Snow will be heaviest really throughout the entire day on Tuesday, from 9am to 9pm. Snowfall rates between 1-2 inches per hour are likely.

You'll hear forecasters refer to "blizzard conditions" or "blizzard-like conditions." What you may not know is that to meet blizzard criteria, the amount of snow is not considered. In fact, a blizzard is defined as snow and/or blowing snow with visibility below 1/4 mile and sustained winds/frequent gusts of 25 mph or greater for three consecutive hours. That last part is the most difficult to achieve. If and only if all those criteria are met will this be an official blizzard. Blizzard-like conditions may be the aforementioned for a shorter period of time.

There is a chance of power outages due to high winds.  The snow is expected to be the fluffy type and won't contribute to the outages.  Make sure you are prepared.  You stock up on all of your storm necessities by tonight.  If you live next to the elderly, make sure you check in on them.  Be safe!

 

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