The Big Dig (Out) — First The Blizzard, Then The Wind and Cold

After the nor'easter blasted the Seacoast with over a foot of snow, a frigid below zero cold will last through Monday.

The last impacts of the nor'easter were from winds from the west at 15 mph that gusted to 30 mph, making for a wind chill of -5. The wind also created the potential for splash over, beach erosion, and water on low lying roads and property during high tide on Sunday morning.

The criteria of a blizzard — three hours of sustained winds of at least 35 mph, visibility of a quarter mile or less for at least three hours and blowing & drifting snow — was met officially on the Seacoast in Portsmouth and Rochester, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Cornwell.

"It was pretty good blizzard conditions for a while for a lot of people," Cornwell told Seacoast Current.

The highest amount of snow reported on the Seacoast was 13.5 inches in Rye and 12 inches in Sanford, but reports were still being compiled on Sunday morning. The blowing and drifting made it difficult to measure in some spots.

"Overall the snow looks like what we were expecting, maybe a little lower. The winds were a little bit more than we were expecting so that clearly made it hard to measure. Everyone who's been calling has been saying that. They're got bare spots and big drifts," Cornwell told Seacoast Current.

Let the Clean Up Begin

The strongest wind gusts were measured off shore, but on land the highest gust along the New Hampshire and Maine coastlines was 59 mph in Portland. The highest gust on the Seacoast was 46 mph in Portsmouth.

Road crews spent all night clearing the roads, with parking bans due to expire in most communities on Sunday morning.

Portsmouth's parking ban ends at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. Residents have until 12 noon to remove their cars from the Foundry and Hanover garages before the rates return to normal.

The state's fixed COVID-19 vaccination and testing sites will all be closed on Sunday and will reopen on Monday.  Many of the centers are outdoors.

Snow Totals from the National Weather Service

Maine:

• York CountyOld Orchard Beach: 14.8 in
  Old Orchard Beach: 14.8 in
  Sanford: 12.0 in
  Kittery: 11.5
  Old Orchard Beach: 11.0
  Hollis Center 5.4 NW: 9.0 in
  Hollis: 9.0 in
  Cornish 5.6 ESE: 8.5 in
  Berwick: 8.0 in
  North Waterboro 1.2 NE: 6.5 in
  East Waterboro 1.7 NW: 5.4 in
  Hollis: 5.3 in

New Hampshire

• Rockingham CountyRye: 13.5 in
  Northwood: 13.2 in
  Stratham: 13.0 in
  Hampton: 12.0 in
  Derry: 11.3 in
  Portsmouth Airport:11.0 in
  Stratham: 10.3 in
  Kingston: 10.2 in
  Hampstead: 9.5 in
  Epsom: 9.0 in
  Derry: 9.0 in
  Greenland: 8.7 in
  Epsom: 7.5 in
  Northwood: 7.5 in
  Auburn: 5.0 in
• Strafford CountyDover : 11.0 in
  Lee: 10.5 in
  Barrington: 10.0 in
  Dover: 9.5 in
  Strafford: 9.0 in
  Barrington: 8.8 in
  New Durham: 8.0 in
  Barrington: 7.0 in
• Essex County
  Newburyport: 16 in

Send your snow pictures to reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH