A significant rain and wind storm pummeled Lincoln County throughout the day on Wednesday, causing power outages, washing out roads, and damaging an important National Weather Service radio tower in Dresden.
At the height of the storm there were 174 power outages in Lincoln County, four NWS weather advisories in effect, a number of area roads submerged in rain water, and minor tidal flooding in Damariscotta.
Precipitation began in the evening hours of Tuesday and continued to intensify during the overnight hours. The heaviest precipitation passed through Lincoln County during the mid-day hours, according to forecasters. Rainfall intensity decreased as evening approached and moved out of the area by approximately 8 p.m.
Rainfall, sometimes falling at the rate of 1 inch per hour, accumulated to 3 to 5 inches in some areas of Lincoln County, according to the NWS.
The high winds and wet weather combined with the abundance of leaves still on trees or on the ground were mentioned as a contributing factor to flood conditions, according to the NWS. Poor drainage in some areas was due to fallen leaves clogging pipes and gutters, according to the NWS.
At 11:47 a.m. on Wednesday the NWS issued a special weather statement advising that the NWS radio transmitter on Blinn Hill in Dresden had been knocked out of service by a downed tree and that technicians had been dispatched to repair the facility.
The special weather statement regarding the Blinn Hill situation was withdrawn by 9 p.m., however the radio transmitter remained out of service until repair crews could reach it safely, according to a spokesperson for the NWS office in Gray.
The radio transmitter is used by the NWS to broadcast around the clock weather information to the Lincoln County area. It is expected to be repaired expeditiously, according to the NWS spokesperson.
At 11:58 a.m. on Wednesday Central Maine Power reported that 44 Lincoln County households were suffering from power outages. That number increased to 57 by 1:28 p.m., and then again to 174 by late afternoon. At 9:25 p.m. that number had been reduced to 100 households, 21 in Alna, 15 in Bristol, 2 in South Bristol and 62 in Whitefield.
The Lincoln County News will continue to follow the progress of this event, and post any additional information as soon as it becomes available.