Spring snowstorm hits Northern N.E., rain in Mass.
Flood watch in effect until Sunday morning
Winter made a return visit to New England on Saturday as Massachusetts was soaked in pouring rain, with a flood watch in effect, and its neighboring states to the north were blanketed in snow.
About 100 eager skiers were lined up at the lift at Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, N.H., before it opened at 8 a.m. Saturday, ready to hit the slopes, said general manager Tom Day in a phone interview.
“We haven’t seen this in a while because the month of March has been a little dreary, as far as snow and winter-type weather,” Day said. “So everybody gets jacked up to see this kind of snow — nice, fluffy snow.”
Day was excited about the spontaneous “boost” of snow, now that it’s spring and with just about a week left in the ski season, he said.
“The season pass holders, the diehard skiers — they’ll go right up to the end,” Day said. “We were joking with them, and I said, ‘What’s all this white stuff coming out of the sky? It’s weird.’ ”
Elsewhere in New Hampshire, Waterville Valley had 17.6 inches of snow as of 3:40 p.m., according to the weather service.
Claremont had 20.5inches, Albany had 16 inches, and Ellsworth and Lebanon each had 18 inches as of late Saturday evening.
The Mount Washington Avalanche Center issued a warning Saturday for “steep slopes,” including Tuckerman Ravine, Huntington Ravine, Gulf of Slides, Great Gulf, and Ammonoosuc Ravine.
“These avalanches may be large enough to bury multiple people, do significant damage to trees or buildings, and will likely run far down in paths or to areas that are normally considered safe zones,” the avalanche center said in a statement.
The warning will expire Sunday at 7 a.m., according to the avalanche center.
In Vermont, Ludlow had 22 inches of snow, Woodstock had 21 inches, White River Junction had 20 inches, and Shrewsbury had about 19 inches, according to the weather service.
In Maine, Sweden and Lovell both had 13.5 inches as of 4:30 p.m., and Otisfield had 10.5 inches as of 4:55 p.m., the weather service said.
The Massachusetts flood watch — which covers areas including Boston, Gloucester, Lowell, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket — was in effect until 8 a.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service said in an announcement.
As of 1 p.m., 1 to 3 inches of snow had fallen across northern Massachusetts, according to the weather service.
In Western Massachusetts, Berkshire East Mountain Resort in Charlemont welcomed 3 inches of snow overnight, which brought in a nice top layer to the slopes, said Nathan Marr, the resort’s director of marketing.
“Anytime you look out your window and see snow, you’re in that winter mindset, so you can put away the golf clubs and get your skis back out to take a few more runs before spring is really here,” Marr said in a phone interview.
Savoy had 3 inches of snow, Hawley 2.7 inches, Haverhill 1.5 inches, and Newburyport had 1.1 inches.
The heaviest rain passed through Western and Central Massachusetts in the early evening and continued to eastern Massachusetts, where it was expected to taper off by midnight, according to the weather service.
More than 4,000 customers were without power as of late Saturday, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s outage map.
Other Massachusetts communities covered by the flood watch include Fall River, Lowell, Lawrence, Plymouth, Norwood, and Taunton, the weather service said.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation warned of “challenging driving situations,” particularly at higher elevations, throughout Saturday.
The speed limit on the Mass Pike was dropped to 40 miles per hour Saturday morning between the New York state border and Westfield, which is just west of Springfield, according to a MassDOT posting on X.
“With continuous precipitation and low temperatures expected through this evening, we strongly urge travelers to be cautious,” MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said in a statement. “We anticipate parts of the state will experience freezing rain at some point today and tonight, which will cause difficult driving conditions. Those who need to be on the road should make sure to plan ahead and reduce speed, especially in areas with standing water.”
A truck filled with thousands of pineapples rolled over on Interstate 495 in Westford Saturday morning, sending the fruits rolling into the brush on the side of the highway, State Police said in a post on X.
The truck’s driver was taken to Lowell General Hospital with minor injuries after the two-vehicle crash, according to the post. It was unclear if weather was a factor in the rollover, but roads were icy at the time.
As of about 10 p.m., 17 flights were canceled and 220 delayed at Logan International Airport in Boston, according to FlightAware, an aviation traffic monitor.
The turbulent weather is expected to calm down by Sunday morning and the day will be mostly cloudy in the Boston area, with a high near 39 degrees, according to the weather service.
Sean Cotter, John Tlumacki, and Nick Stoico of the Globe staff contributed to this report.