FORT KENT, Maine — On Friday, it was northern Maine’s turn for snow when a storm tracking north from the Gulf of Maine dumped up to 6 inches of snow in some parts of northern Aroostook.
Parts of the St. John Valley and Presque Isle had 6 inches of snow, the Caribou area reported about 4 inches and just over an inch fell farther to the south, according to Joe Hewitt, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in Caribou.
“This was the second storm in less than a week,” Hewitt said Friday evening. “This was another significant amount but not as much as we were expecting.”
Initially, Hewitt said, predictions were for as much as 14 inches of snow in the far north, but the fast track of the storm coupled with higher than expected ground temperatures kept those accumulations down.
This was far different than the storm last Sunday that brought more than a foot of snow to areas of central and Down East Maine, knocking down trees and power lines and leaving around 130,000 homes without electricity at its worst.
Crews from Emera Maine and Central Maine Power are closing in on restoring power to all customers who lost it during last weekend’s snowstorm.
Shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, Emera Maine reported 2,663 customers still without power.
Power has been restored to more than 50,000 customers since Monday in Emera territory, according to a company statement.
According to Central Maine Power’s website, just over 100 customers were without power Friday afternoon, down from more than 80,000 on Monday.
Friday’s snow meant for some slippery driving conditions with dispatchers around Aroostook County reporting numerous vehicles off the road.
Schools and some government offices were closed Friday, and a section of U.S. Route 1A was closed to traffic Friday morning after a tractor-trailer truck jackknifed on Clark Brook Hill.
The snow was winding down Friday evening, but Hewitt said some winds and lower temperatures would be coming in behind it overnight, possibly causing some drifting snow and icy road conditions.
