Winter Storm Mars Bringing Snow and Strong Winds to New England; Blizzard Conditions Reported

February 8,2016


 
Winter Storm Mars will continue impacting eastern New England into Tuesday with a combination of heavy snow and strong winds, resulting in dangerous travel conditions.
Blizzard conditions were officially verified on Monday on Nantucket Island where wind gusts up to 65 mph have been clocked. Blizzard conditions were also verified in Chatham, Hyannis, Falmouth, Plymouth and on Martha's Vineyard.
(MORE: Winter Storm Mars Impacts)
Coastal flooding was reported in several locations along the Massachusetts coast. Up to 9 inches of snow have been measured in Cape Cod accompanied by blizzard conditions in some areas and 9.8 inches of snow was reported on Martha's Vineyard.
(MORE: What is a Blizzard?)

Current Radar and Winds

The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings for coastal areas of southern Maine and southeastern New Hampshire. In addition, winter weather advisories also continue for portions of New England.
(MORE: How Winter Storms Are Named)

Winter Weather Alerts

The snow and strong winds moving through New England into early Tuesday are from a strong area of low pressure passing well off the East Coast. That area of low pressure has undergone what meteorologists call bombogenesis. This is a term generally applied to a storm whose minimum pressure drops at least 24 millibars in 24 hours, indicating a strong and rapidly intensifying storm system. In the case of Mars, the pressure dropped from 1004 millibars at 7 a.m. EST Sunday to 979 millibars by 1 a.m. EST Monday, or 25 millibars in 18 hours.

Despite the far offshore track of the strong low, it is still having a major impact on eastern New England due its very large area of precipitation and strong winds. An additional component of this storm is the potential for ocean-enhanced snowfall near the coast due to strong northeast winds helping to pull extra moisture in from the Atlantic.
Below is a look at what we expect to see from Winter Storm Mars, which will likely have a major impact on travel in eastern New England into Tuesday.

Snowfall Forecast

(FORECASTS: Boston | Nantucket, Massachusetts | Providence | Portland, Maine)
Winter Storm Mars Forecast Key Points:

• Light to moderate snowfall will continue to impact eastern New England into Tuesday.
• Snowfall totals of 6 to 12 inches are possible from Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts into portions of Maine.
• By Tuesday morning, snowfall from Mars will have ended in southern New England, but will persist in Maine.
• Some downed tree limbs and power lines were reported Monday morning in southeastern Massachusetts due to strong winds and the weight of wet snow.
• Moderate coastal flooding occurred in eastern Massachusetts with the Monday late morning to midday high tide. Coastal flooding may occur once again with high tide Monday night and again Tuesday morning.
• Light snow was seen as far south as the New York City metropolitan area.

Forecast Wind Gusts

Snowfall Reports
The following snowfall totals have been reported as of Monday evening:

• Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts: 9.8 inches
• Orleans, Massachusetts: 9 inches
• Coventry, Rhode Island: 8.5 inches
• Nantucket: 7 inches
• Framingham, Massachusetts: 6.3 inches
• Providence, Rhode Island: 6.2 inches
• Southhampton, New York: 6 inches
• Near Stratham, New Hampshire: 5.3 inches
• New Haven, Connecticut: 6 inches
• Boston (Logan Airport): 4.7 inches
• York, Maine: 3 inches

Winter Storm Mars Snowfall Totals

Southeast Coastal Impacts:
Prior to hitting New England, Mars impacted parts of the Southeast coast on Sunday.

• Mars brought some light sleet and snow accumulations to parts of eastern North Carolina Sunday. Traffic accidents were reported due to light sleet accumulations in Wilson County, North Carolina, Sunday morning.
• Strong winds from the low pressure system associated with Mars brought a wind gust of 70 mph to Cedar Island, North Carolina. Trees and power lines were downed in Manteo.
• Flooding was also reported in eastern North Carolina, including from Surf City to Topsail where a few roads were reported to be impassable. Water across highway 12, just south of Cedar Island, was also reported Sunday evening.

PHOTOS: Winter Storm Mars