Mainenites are Snow Happy.

CARIBOU, Maine - Before you complain about waiting for spring, consider the plight of people in the far northeastern corner of New England.

So far this season, they have endured 193 inches of snow - more than 16 feet - the most since weather watchers started keeping records in 1939. They have long since run out of places to put the stuff: Massive, graying banks of it still tower over roads and houses in Caribou, a dozen miles from the Canadian border and some 350 miles from Boston.

Last week, as the Hub tried out springlike temperatures, most likely finished with snow for the season after a measly 52 inches, Caribou braced for black ice and whiteout conditions, as wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour sliced the tops off 5-foot snowbanks along US Route 1. Yesterday, as Boston woke to rain and highs near 50, Caribou began the day with - big surprise - more snow.

Amazingly, perhaps, no one seen by this reporter wept at the sight of the flakes. Even more remarkable, with the 200-inch mark in sight, many locals were happy to aim for that chilly, glittering milestone.

"If we're going to have all this pain and suffering, we might as well hit 200," said Steven Buck, Caribou's city manager.

If the area gets as much snow as it usually does in April and, yes, May, it would end the season with 200.8 inches, said Todd Lericos, a meteorologist at the Caribou office of the National Weather Service.

"We're looking forward to 200," he said. "It's the next big benchmark."