BOSTON (CNN) — New England is bracing for yet another blizzard, the latest salvo in what has already been an unrelenting winter in the Northeast.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning Sunday for a large swath of the region, including portions of New York state, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine — an area that’s home to more than 15 million people.
The agency warned that Portland, Maine, could see as much as 26 inches of snow.
“That’s the bullseye,” said CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar, who added the snow there was to begin around 1 p.m. Sunday and continue into Monday.
In Boston, about 100 miles south, early afternoon rain will turn to snow around 3 p.m. Sunday, according to Chinchar.
The city could receive as much as 16 inches of snow — with suburbs along the north shore getting up to 19 — before the storm is through. The snowfall is expected to continue into Monday, creating a potentially dangerous morning commute.
“The snow will be heavy and wet, and winds high, so power outages and downed trees are a concern,” said CNN meteorologist Julie Martin. “It is likely schools will be canceled again.”
Boston has already gotten almost 31 inches of snow this winter, so if the weather service’s prediction is accurate the city will soon surpass its annual average of 43.8 inches for the entire year, according to Chinchar. “And it’s only February,” she added.
Still, it would take quite a bit more punishing by Mother Nature to match the record-shattering 110.6 inches of snow that crippled Boston in the winter of 2014-2015. That snowfall was so vast that an enormous pile of the white stuff lingered until July before finally melting.
“I’m not sure we will get to that magnitude,” Chinchar said, “but we will certainly be well above average to finish this winter season.”
