Snow in Alexandria, New Hampshire, on Dec. 12, 2022. Photo by Todd B. Bates/NH EnviroGuy blogger

Snow in New England, Snowfall Maps and a Nor’easter “Likely” This Week

5 min readDec 12, 2022

We finally got some measurable snow this month in central New Hampshire.

It’s a welcome sight, assuming you love winter and compelling outdoor scenery.

Parts of the Northeast may get quite a bit more white stuff from a nor’easter later this week, according to the Weather Prediction Center at the National Weather Service.

“Heavy snow threat shifts into the interior Northeast Thursday and Friday, with heavy rain possible across coastal locations,” a center forecast discussion says.

“The likely development of a nor’easter near the Mid-Atlantic coast and subsequent northward track would bring a threat for wintry weather and potentially heavy snowfall across interior portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with even some ice/sleet potential closer in towards the I-95 corridor early Thursday before the warm air moves in and changes the precipitation to rain,” the discussion says.

“There remains plenty of uncertainty in the details of this system, and even small shifts in this low (storm) track could cause significant differences in precipitation types/amounts across the East.”

This map shows areas where heavy snow may fall and high winds may develop in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic later this week and next weekend. Source: Weather Prediction Center at the National Weather Service

“Probabilities for over 8 inches of snow are highest across the elevated regions of the Catskills, Adirondacks, and White Mountains,” the center says in a hazards outlook for Dec. 15 to 19. “There remains notable uncertainty with how far east/south the rain/snow line sets up, therefore residents along this expected transition zone should keep an eye on the forecast for relatively subtle changes going forward.”

Coastal flooding “could become an issue on Friday and Saturday as the strengthening low pressure system produces strong northeasterly winds from Long Island to the southern coast of Maine. Wind gusts could exceed 50 mph at times, which prompted the addition of the highlighted high winds area,” the outlook says.

Not Much Snow in New England So Far This Season

Thirty years ago, a powerful nor’easter caused major coastal flooding in New England and the mid-Atlantic. The storm also dumped up to 4 feet of snow inland.

The nor’easter of ’92 hammered the Jersey Shore, causing the most coastal damage there since a March 1962 nor’easter. I was one of many Asbury Park Press reporters, photographers and others who covered its stunning aftermath and years-long efforts to boost shore protection, including replenishing severely eroded beaches and dunes.

The 1992 storm caused 19 deaths and $2.5 billion in damages ($5.1 billion in today’s dollars). It affected states including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.

“The storm was one of the fiercest nor’easters to have struck southern New England in the 20th century,’’ the National Weather Service Boston/Norton office says in a comprehensive summary.

Superstorm Sandy: 10th Anniversary Memories and Images

More images, including snowfall maps from the latest event, a map showing weather hazards in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic later this week and some of my snow-related photos today in New Hampshire: