Motorists in one northeastern state were advised to exercise extreme caution as a band of heavy snow impeded travel this morning.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Gray, Maine, issued a special winter weather advisory just before 7 a.m. ET, warning of heavy snowfall moving through several parts of the state. Motorists were encouraged not to travel during the snowfall.
"Rapid visibility reduction and potentially icy roads are likely to lead to
accidents," the advisory warned. "Consider delaying travel until the snow showers pass your location. If traveling pull off to a safe location."
The heavy snow impacted northern Kennebec, central Oxford, northwestern Waldo, north central Androscoggin, southeastern Somerset and southeastern Franklin counties. The affected area includes Interstate 95 between mile markers 124 and 154, and the NWS office warned that visibility would drop quickly to less than a quarter mile.
Snow fell for approximately 45 minutes and has since mostly dissipated, NWS meteorologist Derek Schroeter told Newsweek. The remnants of the storm are now moving over Waterville, Maine.
"The snow is falling at a much slower rate," Schroeter said.
Snow didn't accumulate more than an inch as it moved across the area, but it was strong enough to reduce visibility and cover roads.
The snow is part of a cold front that began moving through northern New England overnight. On Tuesday night, NWS Gray warned of the incoming cold front on X, formerly Twitter.
"A cold front will cross northern New England tonight bringing some snow showers to the mountains," the office posted. "Otherwise, mostly dry weather is expected through the rest of the week."
"A few snow showers and even a squall are possible up north tonight with a passing cold front, then tomorrow will feature some breezy post-frontal winds," the office added in a follow-up post.
Wind gusts will continue to blow throughout the state on Wednesday, reaching up to 30 miles per hour in some areas.
The advisory for Maine comes as a slew of other states also face winter storm warnings. NWS offices in Colorado and New Mexico issued a winter storm watch on Wednesday, extending through Friday as a storm brings up to 20 inches of snow to some areas. Motorists also were encouraged to drive cautiously in Colorado and New Mexico as the storm moved through the region this week.
Eight additional states also face winter storm warnings, as a massive storm brought heavy rain, wind and snow to the eastern United States.
Storm warnings were in effect this week for parts of New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, West Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Alaska and Idaho.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
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