Heavy snow blanketed most of Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire on Tuesday, forcing the closure of hundreds of schools and making roads slick as the vehicle crash count mounted.
Close to a foot of snow had fallen in some areas of northern New England by mid-afternoon, while the precipitation switched over to rain in other spots.
Speed limits were lowered on some highways, and New Hampshire state troopers cleared at least six accidents by 10 a.m. There was no word of major injuries.
The first major statewide snowfall of the season dealt parts of Windsor County, Vermont, nearly 11 inches by mid-afternoon, said Marlon Verasamy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Burlington, Vermont. More accumulation was expected throughout the day and into Wednesday in the Green Mountain State, he said.
Not everyone was upset about the snowy conditions.
“I love it. I’m so happy. It’s so beautiful,” Rowan Sherwood said of the snow, as she and her boyfriend toted a Christmas tree to her apartment in downtown Montpelier on Tuesday morning. “I walked my kids to school this morning and (I’m) just thrilled.”
Snow gave way to cold rain in parts of Maine and New Hampshire. The weather service said greater snow tallies were expected inland, with 6 inches falling in Randloph, Maine, by mid-afternoon.
The highest snow totals in the three-state region likely were to be in southern Vermont. Verasamy said.
“Some higher elevations down south could push a foot,” he said.
Central and northern New Hampshire, western Maine and eastern Vermont all were under a winter storm warning from the weather service at midday Tuesday. Western Vermont, southern and coastal New Hampshire and most of southern, coastal and eastern Maine were under a winter weather advisory.
Wally Delia, shoveling the sidewalk outside of his chocolate store Cocoa Bean of Vermont in Montpelier, said he felt the forecast for 6 to 10 inches in his city was “just a dusting,” at most.
“It’s about time. We need some ground cover,” he said.
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