A New Year’s nor’easter dumped over a foot of snow on Lincoln County and pummeled the area with high winds, but local residents weathered the storm well.
No major incidents or power outages were reported. Schools were not open because of the holiday, and many businesses were already closed to observe New Year’s Day. However, with the storm’s most significant snowfall and winds on Saturday night, many churches cancelled Sunday morning services out of concern for the safety of their parishioners.
The storm first visited Lincoln County on New Year’s Eve, then returned for the weekend with snowfall ending on Sunday, but continued to linger with snowflakes from the same system dusting the area on Tuesday, according to reports from the National Weather Service (NWS).
The unusual system began as three low fronts, one from the northwest, one from the southwest, and another in the mid-Atlantic. A new low front developed off Cape Cod and sucked the energy from the existing low fronts, creating a powerful ocean storm that began tracking north-northeast up the coast, bringing the New Year’s Eve snowfall to Lincoln County.
Numerous minor traffic accidents were reported as much of the weather moved in during the evening commute, making roadways a slushy mess.
Instead of continuing its northerly track out to sea as most ocean storms do, the New Year’s nor’easter slid back toward the Gulf of Maine and took up residence for the weekend.
Snowfall – sometimes heavy, sometimes light – continued through Sunday afternoon and then tapered off until Tuesday when the storm revisited with light snow. The most significant period of snowfall and wind came on Saturday afternoon and continued through Sunday morning.
Inland areas saw higher snowfall totals, with 18.7 inches of accumulation in Jefferson and 13.5 inches of accumulation in Westport Island, according to the National Weather Service.
