The first day of spring could look an awful lot like most of the winter.

A winter storm that as of March 18 is working its way up the coast will collide with the region early Tuesday morning, March 19. The storm is expected to dump 10-12 inches of snow, but unlike past storms of the winter, the snow won't be light, National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Hawley said.

“It isn't going to be fluffy,” he said. “It's going to be that wet, sticky snow.”

The snow is expected to land in the region near dawn March 19 and won't leave until the next morning. Snowfall will be heaviest the afternoon and night of March 19, just in time for Wednesday, March 20, the first day of spring.

It won't just be the snow, either; wind is expected to stay in the 15-25 mile per hour range with gusts ranging even higher than that. Temperatures are expected to dip from the March 18 high of 33 to highs March 19 in the mid-20s.

“I don't think we will see too many snowdrifts; the snow will be too heavy,” Hawley said. “I think we can expect it to come in sideways and stick to the side of everything.”

Hawley said the snow could be lighter if temperatures drop, but that such a scenario was unlikely.

Maine was put under a winter storm warning from 4 a.m. March 19 until 6 a.m. March 20.

There are actually two storms coming Maine's way; one formed over the Great Lakes while the other formed south of Long Island, New York. The Long Island storm is the one that will bring the cement-like snow.

“This happens from time-to-time,” Hawley said. “It definitely doesn't happen every year, but it's not rare to have a (spring) snow storm.”

Ben Bulkeley can be reached at 207-633-4620 or bbulkeley@boothbayregister.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BBRegisterBen.