How Much Snow Fell In Worcester Area During Nor'easter Gail

WORCESTER, MA — Winter in New England is back.

After barely any major snow events last winter and a relatively balmy December so far — remember, temperatures were at or above 60 degrees just last week — Mother Nature came back with a vengeance over the last 24 hours.

A blustery, freezing cold nor'easter dropped more than a foot of snow on most communities across the region on Wednesday and into Thursday. But local totals varied wildly even in adjacent towns. Here are some observed snow totals verified by the National Weather Service on Thursday — and keep the times in mind, because some of these were measured before the storm ended.

• Grafton, Route 140/122 — 16 inches at 2:50 p.m.
• Leicester, Winslow Avenue — 14 inches, 3:01 p.m.
• Milford, Central and Main streets — 13.3 inches at 4:27 p.m.
• Westborough, Whitney Street — 12.5 inches at 2:23 p.m.
• Worcester Airport — 12.2 inches at 12:37 p.m.
• Auburn, Central Street — 11.9 inches, 3:15 p.m.
• Mendon, Blackstone Street — 11.5 inches at 12:53 p.m.
• Northborough, Main Street — 10.5 inches, 8:57 a.m.
• Shrewsbury, Colton Lane — 10 inches at 4:01 p.m.

The nor'easter, named Gail, did break a few Dec. 17 records. With 12.5 inches, Boston broke the 2013 record of 6.4 inches. With 5.8 inches, Providence broke a 1961 record of 4 inches flat.

And it appears the snow will be sticking around. The weekend forecast shows clear skies until Sunday with temperatures at or below 30 each day.