FORT KENT, Maine — Whiteout conditions were creating headaches for drivers around Maine as low pressure moving through the state brought snow and high winds from northern to Down East Maine.
All of Route 1 between Presque Isle and Caribou was closed due to blowing snow that reduced visibility to zero early Sunday evening, according to the dispatcher at the Presque Isle Police Department.
Detour signs were in place, and the road will remain closed until conditions improve.
Other Aroostook County roads were down to one lane, according to the dispatcher for the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office.
“There’s a lot of blowing snow out there,” the dispatcher said Sunday afternoon.
“We are seeing a lot of high winds with whiteouts creating significant drifting in the roads,” according to the dispatcher at Washington County Communications. “Road crews are trying to keep up with things, but Mother Nature is getting the best of them.”
On Sunday some roads in Washington County were down to single lanes because of drifting snow covering the other lane, and a section of Rt. 193 was closed for a time.
Much of central and southern Maine was under a wind advisor Sunday in effect until 8 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Caribou.
West winds of 20 to 25 mph were forecast with gusts up to 50 mph in Penobscot, Hancock, Washington and Piscataquis counties.
Gale warnings were posted by the NWS through 11 a.m. Monday for coastal Down East areas, which were expected to see winds of 35 mph gusting up to 50 mph with seas at 6 to 9 feet.
A freezing spray warning was also posted for Down East areas by the weather service.
The winter weather advisory for northern and central Maine was posted through 8 p.m.Sunday with the weather service calling for some snow accumulations and strong winds gusting up to 45 mph.
On Saturday, Joe Hewitt, lead forecaster with the Caribou National Weather Service office, said thanks to temperatures that will not rise above the mid-teens on Sunday, any snow that did fall would be light and fluffy and easily blown around.
“Sunday is going to be a good day to stay inside,” he said. “It will not be a good day to be out driving.”
Wind chills below zero degrees on Sunday were a marked difference from Saturday, where temperatures in the low- to mid-30s around the state felt almost mild thanks to the sun and no winds.
Temperatures will climb back into the 30s by midweek, Hewitt said, and by the end of the week, parts of the state could hit the lower 40s.
“Thursday into Friday, we will be at the normal or above normal temperatures for this time of year for the first time since the first part of March,” he said. “We could see some snow or rain on Thursday, but that will be a quick hit.”
