HOULTON, Maine — Kara McGuire said Wednesday that when the first major snowstorm of the season started to fall on Houlton on Tuesday evening, she immediately started digging through her shed.
“I instantly headed out to find out where I had buried my snowshoes from last season,” she said. “I am excited. Last year, we really didn’t get enough snow to have a real winter, so maybe this year will be different.”
With a foot or more of snow blanketing parts of southern Aroostook by the time that storm ended on Wednesday and more on the way, McGuire should be happy for a while.
A winter storm watch issued by the National Weather Service in Caribou on Wednesday forecast another blast of snow for northern Maine late Wednesday into Thursday.
“Most of the snow is going to fall in northern Aroostook, particularly in the St. John Valley,” NWS Meteorologist Mark Bloomer said Wednesday. “It should start around midnight and bring 10 to 12 inches to that part of the region. The rest of The County is going to receive lesser amounts of snow.”
The heavy, wet snow, with winds gusting up to 25 miles per hour, was expected to create hazardous driving conditions, according to the weather service.
Several inches of snow also are possible Wednesday night into Thursday in western Maine in parts of Oxford, Franklin and Somerset counties, NWS indicated.
Rain was forecast to fall on the rest of the state east of those counties and south of Aroostook, including in the Bangor and Down East regions, which also saw mostly rain on Wednesday.
Aroostook County also received the most snow from the storm that moved into Maine on Tuesday evening, Bloomer said. Ludlow saw the most snow at 15 inches, while Sherman, Mapleton and Amity each got a foot. Houlton picked up 11 inches. Between 9 and 10 inches fell on Caribou and Presque Isle.
Lesser amounts of snow fell in Penobscot County, where East Millinocket and Medway picked up 6 inches and Lincoln received 3.5 inches.
In Piscataquis County, Abbot saw 4 inches, Bloomer said, and Sangerville received 3 inches of snow.