Harrison Thorp
Tuesday, December 17, 2013 10:13 am

The second major storm in three days is predicted to hit this afternoon across the area, with up to six to eight inches of snow expected locally and heavier amounts in Downeast Maine.

The storm may be a blessing for students eager to get a day off from school, but a bane to businesses who will likely lose another shopping day in an already abbreviated holiday buying season between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The storm is expected to ramp up early this afternoon and continue into Wednesday. Frigid temps and a sturdy snowpack already in place will enable the snow to accumulate quickly on highways and secondary roads.

One blessing is the storm is not expected to produce the winds like the weekend storm.

The high today is expected to be only in the teens with a low tonight of 15 and a high tomorrow near 30.