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Area gets eight inches; more expected Monday

By From Staff Reports - | Nov 17, 2018

NASHUA – Residents awoke to something of a winter wonderland Friday morning, as the season’s first snowfall left some areas with eight inches of frozen precipitation.

While many had to drag themselves out of bed to dig out their vehicles to start the day, rain moved in later in the morning, making for a wet and wild experience.

However, snow could stick around on the ground into next week, making for a white Thanksgiving, especially with the possibility of more snow late Sunday and into Monday. National Weather Service meteorologist Nikki Becker said the next system that has the potential to bring more snow to the region should arrive Sunday evening.

Totals and Forecast

Doug Webster, senior meteorologist at Hometown Forecast Services in Nashua, said he measured 6.6 inches of snow for the city, a mark to which Becker agreed.

“One of the things we have been looking at is the eastern half of Canada. It’s been very cold for several months now, going back into the summer, they have been having record lows very consistently up there, Webster said. “That is part of the reason this storm happened last night (Thursday night) is that some of that air came in ahead of it.”

He said November usually brings about two inches of snowfall in Nashua. That is because not every year brings snow storms during November. He said the city may go two years with no snowfall during November, and then have a storm such as Friday’s which brings several inches to the area.

However, as far as the winter season ahead goes, Webster said it’s a challenging forecast this year.

“It’s probably the most difficult I’ve seen in at least 10 years because many of the signals are conflicting,” Webster said. “The tools we use to look at the winter – many of them conflict with each other. Some tell us that it should be warm or a mild, dry winter. Others say cold and dry. Some say cold and snowy. They’re all over the place.”

However, Webster believes the first part of the season, from now through Christmas, will bring some colder than normal weather, and that residents will continue to see storms.

“It’s one of those years where you shouldn’t be surprised if most anything happens,” Webster said.

“We had a very stormy and unsettled pattern now since July, and it seems that it’s going to continue here for awhile longer,” Webster said.

Webster said Thanksgiving projects as dry and cold.

“We have a shot that we could have a white Thanksgiving again, too, because I don’t know that the snow melts between now and next Thursday,” Webster said. “Some of it may, but not all of it, I don’t think.”

Residents Say

Reaction to the Friday snow was mixed. Joffre Ullon and Ramon Jimenez were two Nashua residents out during the storm. Jimenez is an immigrant from Spain, where snow is rare for the most part. Ullon and Jiminez were out shoveling Ullon’s sister’s sidewalk on East Hollis Street.

“The snowfall is good,” Ullon said with a smile, “It’s nice.”

Meanwhile across the city, Edwin Rivera also worked to clear the snow.

“It keeps you occupied in the winter,” Rivera said. “It’s not sitting inside the house being bored.”

Rivera, who recently moved to Nashua from Puerto Rico, said his daughters love the snow and get excited when the snow begins.

Edward “Jody” Gage III is the owner of Fortin Gage, which is a flower and gift shop located on West Pearl Street. He said the snow impacts his business, but also serves as a connection to keep his fellow neighbors and business owners working together.

“I’ll come down here, especially if it’s during an off-hour snowstorm, and sometimes someone will have (cleared the snow in front of) my store. And the next time, if I come down and they aren’t around, I’ll probably clear some of theirs. It’s kind of a group effort,” Gage said.

Fortin Gage has been in this same location since 1931 and in the hands of Gage’s family since the early 1960s. Gage has run the store for the last 20 years.

As a store owner, Gage is responsible for clearing the snow in front of his store. Gage said he usually cleans in front of his store all the way down to the street because of a drain that needs clearing.

“If I don’t clear it, we will get build up from the drain. I’ve always done it – my dad always did it. We make sure the drain is clean,” Gage said.

Gage said the city does a decent job plowing the streets, and even the sidewalks on some streets, such as Main Street, however they don’t always do as much on the side streets.

“We always have to fix it up a little bit. It’s a big job, but that’s the price of doing business,” Gage said. Residents and business owners will be busy once again with more snow expected soon.

Staff writers Adam Urquhart, Grace Pecci and Mathew Plamondon compiled this report.

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