Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Maine, December 16 to 19, 2022

Primary low pressure tracked to the Great Lakes region from the 16th to the 17th...while transferring energy to a developing secondary low along the Mid-Atlantic coast. At the same time...strong blocking high pressure was located near Newfoundland. The blocking high slowed the movement of the intensifying coastal low which reached the Gulf of Maine during the 17th. The low then slowly exited across the Maritimes through the night of the 17th through the 18th. Snow gradually expanded across central and Downeast portions of the region through the evening of the 16th into the early morning hours of the 17th. Drier air with the blocking high delayed the arrival of snow across northern areas until the morning of the 17th. Deformation zone snows with a slow moving upper low then enhanced snowfall across northern and eastern areas through the 17th into the 19th. Snow diminished across the remainder of the Downeast region into the early morning hours of the 18th. The slow moving upper low...along with surface troffing...helped support a prolonged snow event across northern and eastern portions of the region into the morning of the 19th. Snowfall rates during this event reached 1 to 2 inches per hour at times in the heavier snow bands. Warning criteria snow accumulations across central and interior Downeast regions occurred through the morning into the afternoon of the 17th. Across northern areas...warning criteria generally occurred through the evening of the 17th into the morning of the 18th. However...warning criteria accumulations across northwest areas did not occur until the afternoon of the 18th. Storm total snow accumulations across northern and central areas generally ranged from 10 to 18 inches...with up to around 24 inches across the higher terrain of Baxter State Park. Accumulations across interior Downeast areas generally ranged from 8 to 15 inches. Wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph led to areas of blowing and drifting snow. A transition to rain limited accumulations along the Downeast coast to generally 1 to 4 inches.