East Coast storm makes a mess at ski resorts as strong winds cause power outages

PORTLAND, Maine — A storm that swept up the East Coast delivered a blow to New England, packing powerful gusts that knocked out power along with a deluge of rain and warming temperatures that washed away snow and dampened ski resorts.

An atmospheric river transported moisture northward from the tropics and brought heavy rain. Utility workers were deployed to handle power outages after winds were projected to peak overnight into Thursday.

In Maine, nearly 57,000 customers had lost power as of Wednesday night, according to poweroutage.us. In Massachusetts, nearly 8,000 people were without power.

A deepening low pressure system was responsible for winds that lashed the region, said Derek Schroeter, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.

Forecasters were concerned about bombogenesis, or a “bomb cyclone,” marked by a rapid intensification over a 24-hour period.

“Is that what they’re calling it?” said Jen Roberts, co-owner of Onion River Outdoors sporting goods store in Montpelier, Vermont. She lamented that a five-day stretch of snowfall that lured ski customers into the store was being washed way, underscoring the region’s fickle weather. “But you know, this is New England. We know this is what happens.”

Ski resort operators called it bad luck as the holidays approach.

“We don’t say the ‘r-word’ around here. It’s a forbidden word,” said Jamie Cobbett, marketing director at Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire, which was pelted by rain on Wednesday. “We’re getting some moist wet weather today. We’ll put the mountain back together."

Skier Marcus Caston was waterlogged but shrugged it off. “The conditions are actually pretty good. The rain is making the snow nice and soft. It’s super fun,” he said while skiing at Vermont's Sugarbush.

New England wasn’t the only region experiencing wild weather. Heavy lake effect snow was expected through Thursday in parts of Michigan, along the Lake Michigan shoreline, and dangerous cold enveloped parts of the Upper Midwest.

But New England's weather brought the biggest variety, with the storm bringing a little bit of everything. It started early Wednesday with freezing rain. Then came a deluge of regular rain and warming temperatures — topping 50 degrees Fahrenheit in Portland, for example.

Alex Hobbs, a Boston college student, hoped that the weather wouldn't interfere with her plans to return home to San Francisco soon. "I’m a little worried about getting delays with heavy wind and rain, possibly snow,” she said Wednesday.