Posted in Maine February 13, 2017 by

A Massive Blizzard Blanketed Maine In Snow In 2015 And It Will Never Be Forgotten

When most people think about the record-breaking bad weather, we think back to times when the photos were black and white and the cars blanketed in snow were ones only seen in antique car shows today. But, in Maine, the record breaking weather is actually pretty recent. Only a few years ago, we saw a massive blizzard. As we fight our way through another winter in Maine, we thought it was worth remembering the winter of 2015, when the snow was constant, the temps were frigid and the photos were incredible.

We’re aware that these uncertain times are limiting many aspects of life as we all practice social and physical distancing. While we’re continuing to feature destinations that make our state wonderful, we don’t expect or encourage you to go check them out immediately. We believe that supporting local attractions is important now more than ever and we hope our articles inspire your future adventures! And on that note, please nominate your favorite local business that could use some love right now: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nominate/
The "Blizzard of 2015" shut down some major metro areas in the Northeast and covered Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York in more than two feet of snow.
gsfc / Flickr
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) uses the Regaional Snowfall Index (RSI) to determine the strength of a blizzard.
Aimee LeBlanc / Flickr
The January 2015 storm that hit Maine was a was 6.16, which makes it a Category 3.
imagematters1 / Flickr
The storm ranked 26th out of the 423 northeastern snowstorms the organization has analyzed since 1900.
Corey Templeton / Flickr
The entire storm caused about 5 million people to see over 20 inches of snow and 15 million to see more than 10 inches of new snow.
Andrea / Flickr
The high winds created periods of complete whiteout, which meant anyone outside was in danger of losing any sense of direction.
Corey Templeton / Flickr
Maine snowfall was about 27 inches in Lewiston, 26 inches in Sanford and 27.4 inches in the East End of Portland.
Don Shall / Flickr
Residents were told to stay indoors and warned against driving, but those who did reported not knowing whether they were on the road or if they had run off of it.
Corey Templeton / Flickr
But, as Mainers do, we found alternate ways of getting around for the two days that the blizzard bore down on us.
Corey Templeton / Flickr
Once the snow stopped, we were left in a bit of a winter wonderland.
Paul Noble Photography / Flickr
Another storm hit just a few days later, but the snow left in the wake of the blizzard gave us a good reminder of what winter in Vacationland can be.
Jedi Skittles / Flickr

If you love Maine in the winter, click here for a collection of some pretty epic frozen photos taken in the state.