GRAY, Maine — Maine is in the midst of yet another storm, expected to bring up to a foot of snow to some communities, according to the National Weather Service.
The bulk of the snow was expected to fall in northern and western Maine. Sleet, rain and freezing rain also were forecast.
Worsening weather prompted cancellations, closures and postponements that exceeded 250 statewide by late Tuesday afternoon.
The storm began its northward march into Maine late Tuesday morning. By early afternoon, the Bangor area began seeing sleet and freezing rain, which was still the case at nighttime.
The precipitation was expected to transition to snow as it continued to work its way north Tuesday night into Wednesday, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service.
Oxford, Franklin, Somerset, Aroostook and northern Penobscot and Piscataquis counties were under a winter storm warning effective through late Wednesday for most of those locations, although it was effective through early Thursday for the state’s northernmost reaches, according to the weather service.
Sections of Aroostook County could see up to a foot of snow while the western mountains could get up to 14 inches, the weather service said.
Other parts of the state, including the Bangor area, remained under a winter weather advisory expected to remain in effect through Wednesday afternoon.
The mixed precipitation that the storm brought to Maine made for dangerous driving conditions, but that wasn’t necessarily the case for those traveling by air. Arriving and departing flights at Bangor International Airport were on time late Tuesday afternoon. The only cancellation earlier in the afternoon was a Bangor-to-Philadelphia flight.
The weather service posted flood watches for many coastal communities.
Between 2 and 3 inches of rain were likely in Washington and Hancock counties, while flood watches also are posted for coastal Maine.
Widespread power outages were possible because of snow and freezing rain.
“Heavy, wet snow on trees and treacherous travel conditions which could cause car-pole accidents are our greatest areas of concern with this storm,” Lisa Martin, Emera Maine’s manager of line and meter operations, said in a statement. “Add to that possible icing on power lines and tree limbs could mean a multi-day outage event. Customers should plan accordingly, just to be safe.”
While Emera Maine and Central Maine Power crews braced for the worse, there were no widespread outages as of 8 p.m. Emera Maine’s live outage map showed four customers in Sedgwick without service but it was not clear at that time if weather was the culprit.
Any customer who loses power and is using a generator as a source of power is urged to use the appliance with caution. Generators should be in open spaces at least 15 feet from any windows or doors and outside a home.
Bangor Daily News writer Dawn Gagnon contributed to this report.
