LIVERMORE FALLS — The greater Franklin County area has surpassed last February’s snowfall total, according to at least one weather observer measuring the nor’easter that blew in Sunday and Monday.
For the second time in a week, businesses, schools, town and state offices and other entities closed because of a snowstorm.
As of Monday afternoon, 12.2 inches had fallen in Eustis and about 18 inches in Farmington and Livermore Falls.
And, it was still snowing at 3 p.m.
At about 11 a.m. weather observer Betty Wing in Eustis said there was a lull in the storm, but she expected it to start up again. Visibility was limited and occasionally a gust of wind knocked the snow off trees.
In February 2016, her area got 22.7 inches of snow. As of Monday morning, it had gotten 27 inches, she said.
The 88-year-old was keeping warm in her house between going out to shovel, she said.
“It’s my exercise,” she said.
She, along with others shoveling, snow-blowing or snowplowing were getting a workout.
Harold Souther, a National Weather Service cooperative observer for Livermore Falls, said he could not get the back door of his house open Monday morning to let his dog out without the help of his nephew, Clark Souther, who cleared snow.
Harold Souther reported 15 inches had fallen by 10:30 a.m. and by 3:30 p.m. another 3 inches had hit the ground.
Of the 70 inches of snow that have fallen this winter, the snowpack on Monday was 40 inches, he said.
He called it “a-too-bountiful crop of snow,” adding, “We used to call it the poor man’s fertilizer.”
Dennis Pike of Farmington, also a cooperative weather observer, said Farmington had gotten about 18 inches as of midafternoon.
“It is difficult to measure because of the drifting,” he said.
The highest gust of wind he measured was 28 mph at 10:40 a.m., he said. He reported 47.2 inches of snow accumulation on the ground.
No power outages had been reported for Franklin County and northern Androscoggin County as of midafternoon Monday, according to Central Maine Power’s website, www.cmpco.com.
No major accidents had been reported.
Tim Hardy, director of the Franklin County Emergency Management Agency, said he did not know of any storm emergency or shelters set up in the county.
“By the looks of the roads, I think everybody is taking the warning to stay home seriously,” Hardy said.
Route 133 in Livermore Falls had little traffic Monday as motorists heeded warnings to stay off the roads during the two-day Nor’easter.
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