Saturday was April Fools' Day when people perform pranks on others. The northern parts of New England got a foot of snow on Saturday, April 1. However, it was not a joke from Mother Nature. The wet snow on the ground was real, and more is expected.
The southern parts of New England did not get the type of weather that the northern parts got. However, the southern parts did get a wintry mix of snow, sleet, and rain without the same accumulation.
Consequences of the snow
The heavy snow caused the power outage for tens of thousand of outages for customers in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
There were many accidents for highway drivers. A loaded tractor-trailer turned over on Interstate 95 in Hampton, New Hampshire and blocked three lanes of traffic. The 34-year-old driver of Chelsea, Massachusetts was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The winter storm warning for Vermont and New Hampshire expired earlier than for parts of Maine that remained in place until 8 p.m. Meteorologist Eric Schwibs of the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine described the April 1 snowstorm as Mother's Nature's April Fools' joke.
Records of snowy winters
Some might think it was strange that snow fell on April 1. However, it is not unusual for it to snow so late in the season in New England.
Back on April 10, 1906, Portland, Maine recorded 15 inches of snow for that one day. Based on that date, there is still a possibility for more snow to come.
Northern New England experienced a hefty amount of snow last winter. Portland recorded 84.4 inches for the entire winter, which was 2 feet more than usual. Concord, New Hampshire recorded 73.8 inches.
That was about 15 inches above normal. Bradford, New Hampshire reported 18 inches, and the nearby town of Washington reported 17 inches.
It wasn't snow, but a flood warning that was issued for several Massachusetts counties on Saturday. That warning came in those areas following up to 2 inches of rain overnight. Also, there was a warning in Westport, Connecticut where roads were expected to flood because of a high tide.