Douglas Ciampi of Westminster, Mass., stands next to a rime ice-covered antenna while taking in the view from the summit of Mount Washington, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Rime ice forms when supercooled moisture hits a solid surface. Ciampi’s 5-hour hike was rewarded by exceptionally clear conditions allowing for a visibility of 100 miles from the northeast’s highest peak.
The warm spring-like weather from last weekend and early week gave way Thursday to driving rain, heavy wet snow and powerful wind gusts that knocked out power in parts of New England.
Atop Mount Washington, sustained winds topped 90 mph with gusts topping 130 mph, said William Watson, meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. High temperatures at the 6,288-foot summit were expected to be in the teens.
The wind was blowing so hard that utility crews found it perilous to deploy their buckets to repair downed power lines. Some chairlifts were shut down because of wind at Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Maine.
While coastal regions were drenched with rain, inland areas were receiving a mixture of rain and snow. Up to a foot of snow was possible from Mount Washington northeast to Sugarloaf Mountain and east to Baxter State Park in Maine.
The storm was fast moving. Its fury was expected to diminish through the day, with precipitation ending by the afternoon.