GRAY, Maine — A spring snowstorm that’s bearing down on Maine will pack a wintry wallop, potentially bringing enough to set a new record for an April Fools’ Day storm. Businesses and schools across Maine are closing Friday. See the full list here.
Mike Cempa from the National Weather Service says the storm is tracking eastward, meaning there will be more snow along the coast Friday. He says the weather service now expects 6 to 10 inches on the coast, and 8 inches to a foot of snow just a few miles inland.
All public hearings and work sessions that were to be held Friday in the State House will be rescheduled, legislative leaders said Thursday. Additionally, organizers of a State House rally to protest Gov. Paul LePage’s decision to remove a labor-themed mural from the Department of Labor offices postponed the event until Monday because of the storm.
The University of Maine Center on Aging and collaborating partners have postponed the Substance Abuse and Aging Colloquium scheduled April 1 at Point Lookout in Northport, also because of anticipated severe weather.
“We are working to reschedule the event, which will likely be during the first week in May,” center director Len Kaye said Thursday. Registrants and participants will be notified when a new date is confirmed.
The record for an April Fools’ snowstorm in Portland is 11.1 inches, set in 1922. The all-time record for an April snowstorm is 15.9 inches, set on April 9, 1982.
Storm warnings were up around the Northeast. Snow started falling after 1 a.m. north of New York City in Orange County, where 1 to 3 inches was forecast. Up to 8 inches was possible in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, where snow began falling early Friday, the National Weather Service said.
High-altitude areas of central Vermont could get up to a foot of snow.
Coastal parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut were expected to get mostly rain, or wet snow that won’t accumulate.
The National Weather Service said New York City commuters could encounter an inch of a slushy mix. Gale warnings were in effect for eastern Long Island.
The storm caps a particularly brutal winter for the region, with many cities setting record or near-record snowfalls.
But it’s not all bad news, at least not for some skiers in western Pennsylvania.
Anna Weltz, a spokeswoman for Seven Springs Mountain Resort, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the resort will reopen for Saturday only to cash in on the new snow. The resort 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh had already closed for the season.