Cleanup begins as spring nor’easter moves on. But hundreds of thousands still lack power
Snow showers lingered Friday as cleanup efforts began after a major spring storm that brought heavy snow, rain and high winds to the Northeast, left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power and contributed to at least two deaths.
More than a foot of snow, accompanied by gusty winds, was reported Thursday evening in many parts of northern New England. Some areas got closer to 2 feet (61 centimeters).
“This is a lot of heavy, wet snow,” said Shawn Black, manager of the Wolfeboro Inn in New Hampshire, which was more than a foot high. “And the wind comes from the northeast, so in terms of temperature it is really not pleasant, especially when the speed rises to gusts of 90 km per hour. While I was on the snow blower, I could actually feel my forehead going numb.”
Stowe, Vermont, reported 20 inches (50.8 centimeters) of snow, the National Weather Service office in Burlington reported. The agency’s office in Gray, Maine, said it was 17.4 inches (44.2 centimeters). New Hampshire’s Concord Municipal Airport was on the lower end, at 7 inches.
Low pressure snaking through the Gulf of Maine will mean lingering snow showers over northern New York, New England and the spine of the Appalachians in West Virginia Friday through Saturday, the weather service said.
The snow has created the risk of avalanches in the backcountry of Vermont’s Green Mountains and the high peaks of New York’s northern Adirondacks, the weather service said.
“Outdoor enthusiasts heading into the backcountry to snowshoe or ski on Friday should be aware of avalanche danger and associated risks and take appropriate precautions,” the agency said in a statement.
In West Virginia, flooding along the Ohio River was expected to continue into the weekend. The weather service warned motorists to use extreme caution as flooding could occur along other rivers, streams and creeks miles away from the Ohio.
In New England, utility workers worked overnight to restore power and assess damage, including downed poles and wires and blocked roads. Nearly 700,000 customers, most of them in Maine and New Hampshire, were without electricity at one point.
“We will be working around the clock as part of our multi-day effort to restore power to our remaining customers,” Central Maine Power said in a statement late Thursday.
Some customers were affected for the second time in less than a week after losing power during an ice storm last weekend.
“Be patient, we will not rest until the last customer is restored,” said Doug Foley, president of New Hampshire Electric Operations for Eversource Energy.
The weather service said it was the largest April nor’easter — a type of storm where winds blow from the northeast and move north along the East Coast — to hit the region since 2020.
Heavy snow made travel treacherous in northern New England and New York, and vehicle accidents were reported. The storm mainly brought heavy rainfall to the southern parts of the Northeast, as well as high winds.
A tree fell on a vehicle and killed a woman in Armonk in New York’s Westchester County on Wednesday, police said. In Derry, New Hampshire, officials said one woman died and another was hospitalized after a house fire Thursday sparked by an explosion. A tree had fallen on the house near propane tanks.
Despite the dangers, some hardy New Englanders tolerated the weather well.
“It’s special to get snow in April and be able to enjoy it,” says Jane Phillips, who is cross-country skiing in her neighborhood in Portland, Maine. “It’s fun to be a Mainer.”
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Associated Press writers Patrick Whittle and Holly Ramer in Boston contributed to this report; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Karen Matthews in New York; Sarah Brumfield in Silver Spring, Md.; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Jackie Quinn in Washington; and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington.