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Boston to dodge snow, but not cold

Following a stormy Sunday night, Boston was headed toward some windy weather and a New Year's Eve of biting cold — but none of the ice and snow expected in northern New England.

A week after an ice storm left parts of Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire in the dark, a fast-moving storm was expected to drop heavy, wet snow in parts of those states that could cause more power outages.

In Eastern Massachusetts, temperatures were expected to remain above freezing Monday. Strong winds were expected to reach 25 to 35 miles per hour in Boston and up to 45 miles per hour on the South Shore, Cape, and Islands, National Weather Service meteorologist Charlie Foley said. Some flooding might hit urban areas with poor drainage, Foley said.

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"Other than that, the consequences won't be that great," he said. "The branches are devoid of leaves, so I don't see any great potential for power outages."

Monday is expected to be sunny with temperatures hovering in the mid-30s before dipping to the mid-20s on Tuesday.

Boston residents reveling in First Night activities on New Year's Eve should bundle up, Foley warned, saying that a "frigid cold" will descend, causing temperatures to plummet into the teens overnight.

New Year's Day will not be much warmer, with temperatures in the mid-20s, Foley said.

Snow showers may possibly hit Boston Thursday, although Foley said that it is too early to estimate accumulations.

Utility companies in Maine and Vermont were bracing for more outages, with forecasters predicting a band of heavy snow that could dump 10 or more inches in the Lewiston and Augusta region.

Bangor Hydro Electric had cut the number of outages to around 718 Sunday evening.

Spokeswoman Susan Faloon told the Associated Press many of the remaining outages affected customers who have been without power for a week.

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''On any other day that number might not seem quite so worrisome, but people are cold, tired, and frustrated,'' Faloon said. "And now we have this storm looming over us.''

Central Maine Power reported that about 600 customers remained without power at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Vermont Electric Cooperative saw outages climb Sunday because of ice on trees and lines, according to its website, but the number of customers without power dropped to about 900 by 6 p.m. Spokeswoman Liz Gamache told the Associated Press that the utility expected to have about 700 of those outages fixed by Sunday evening.

Green Mountain Power spokeswoman Dorothy Schnure said that snowfall on trees still caked with ice could prompt a new round of outages in the northwest region of the state. She said people in southeastern Vermont who did not lose power after last week's storm could be affected as well.

Schnure said Green Mountain Power had restored power to all customers by Christmas Eve, but is now experiencing a new round of outages. There were 558 without power as of 6 p.m.

Tom Hawley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Maine, told the Associated Press the New Hampshire coast will see mostly rain, with interior Rockingham County expected to get 2-4 inches.

Hawley said Concord, N.H., and southern Vermont could get 4 -6 inches. ''It's going to be a heavy, sticky, wet snow,'' Hawley said. ''It could create some more power outages.''


Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Alyssa Creamer can be reached at alyssa.creamer@globe.com.

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