BANGOR, Maine — Maine’s first snowstorm of the season hammered parts of the state with heavy, wet, persistent snow, leaving more than 135,000 homes without power Sunday night.
UPDATE: More than 140,000 remain without power as storm cleanup continues
The National Weather Service said Bangor received 12 inches of snow before the storm diminished Sunday night. Higher totals were expected to the northeast of the city. Portland television station WGME, CBS 13, reported a foot of snow in Union and Prospect at 5:30 p.m.
Power outages mounted Sunday afternoon as heavy snow and high wind gusts snapped tree limbs, pulling down power lines. Downed lines forced officials to close roads across the Bangor region.
In a release Monday morning, Emera said crews from New Brunswick were joining in the effort to restore power, and that Nova Scotia crews would join them Tuesday.
Most customers should be restored by the end of the day Wednesday, the release said, but some customers in difficult-to-reach and heavily damaged areas could be out until the end of the week.
Emera asked customers to ensure side roads and long driveways were plowed and sanded to allow crews to access downed wires.
Governor Paul R. LePage announced in a release Monday morning that opening of state offices in Ellsworth, Rockland and West Boothbay Harbor would be delayed until noon, and could be delayed longer if power isn’t restored to those areas. All other state offices would be open as usual.
As of 4:26 a.m. Monday, Emera reported nearly 57,000 customer outages throughout central and eastern Maine, including more than 24,000 in Penobscot County and more than 22,000 in Hancock County. Some of the hardest hit communities in terms of outage numbers were the Orono area, Southwest Harbor, Deer Isle-Stonington, Blue Hill and Carmel.
Central Maine Power reported almost 79,000 customers were without power at 7 a.m. Monday
“The utility placed extra crews on standby for the weekend in anticipation of the storm,” Emera spokesman Bob Potts said in a news release. “They will remain in the field addressing problems and working to restore service to customers as safely and quickly as possible.”
As outages piled up, Emera called in every one of its crews in the Bangor Hydro District, and is planning to bring others down from Aroostook County, where the weather is substantially less severe.
Car crashes mounted by the dozens throughout the day, most of them minor. Motorists were encouraged to stay off the roads as plow crews struggled to keep up with the heavy snowfall.
Rich Okulski, meteorologist in charge of the Caribou National Weather Service office, said Washington, northern Hancock, eastern Penobscot and southern Aroostook counties are expected to get the worst of the storm, with 10-14 inches expected by the time the storm peters out Sunday night.
As of 4 p.m., Houlton saw nearly 11 inches of snow. By that time, more than 5 inches fell on Bangor, with several more hours of heavy snow to come. Farther north, Lincoln had 7½ inches, but much of Aroostook County was relatively unscathed, with just 2 inches falling in Caribou.
A winter storm warning was in effect until 1 a.m. Monday for much of the state.
Acadia National Park announced Sunday morning that all park roads were closed, citing unsafe driving conditions caused by the snow, sleet, heavy winds and 9-foot sea swells.
Bangor has announced a downtown parking ban from 11 p.m. Sunday through 6 a.m. Monday so crews can clear the streets.
The snow could stick around early this week, but by the middle of the week, temperatures are expected to rise into the 40s and close to 50 degrees in some areas, meaning much of the accumulation could melt away, according to the weather service.
That could mean campaign signs will be covered by snowbanks as voters head to the polls to vote on Nov. 4.
Watch bangordailynews.com for updates.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter @nmccrea213.