This historic storm (for some) loosens its grip on New England

Yesterday’s nor’easter has now moved farther into the Atlantic after walloping the region with heavy rain and epic snow.

The wind was notable across the area but never really reached as high as expected. Snowfall at Logan Airport was a paltry half inch, in stark contrast to the other parts of New England that received more than 3 feet of snow. Northern Middlesex, Worcester, Franklin, and Hampshire counties all recorded major snowfall that brought down trees and power lines in a high-impact storm.

The strong storm from yesterday continues to swirl in the Atlantic on Wednesday morning.COD Weather

Winds are continuing to be gusty today as we remain under the influence of this powerful nor’easter.

Over 3 inches of water equivalent either from rain or melted snow occurred in many places. A recap of the moisture flow into the system yesterday shows deep moisture arriving from as far away as the Gulf of Mexico and out over the Atlantic being pulled into the storm. These types of high-moisture systems can really produce some big numbers.

This shows the moisture transport into the nor’easter on Tuesday.Matt Barlow, climate scientist at UMASS Lowell

The track of the storm was just a little too close to the coast for the big cities to see significant snowfall. If this storm had been a little farther offshore and temperatures just a couple of degrees colder we would be looking at a city shutdown today.

Up to 40 inches of snow fell in southern Vermont from the storm Monday night into Tuesday.NOAA Data

All this snow across Vermont, New Hampshire, and even into Maine is going to allow ski season to continue nearly uninterrupted for at least the next couple of weeks because with no extreme early warmth in sight, the snowpack will slowly dissipate. This is also important as spring flooding can be devastating if an extreme snowpack melts too quickly.

Much of New England is covered by deep snow. The first half of March can often have the deepest snows of the entire winter.NOAA

Winds will relax for Thursday with more sunshine followed by afternoon clouds and milder temperatures well into the 40s. Clouds could bring some rain Friday night and Saturday, but this next weather system will not bring snow — it just going to be too warm.