BANGOR, Maine — As expected, a storm that arrived about noon Monday in southern Maine wreaked havoc with motorists and prompted scores of cancellations.
The slow-moving snowstorm headed into southern New England early Monday, according to Reuters.
Snow began falling in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire before the storm reached Maine, the news service said.
Forecasters from the National Weather Service’s offices in Maine said Monday the storm could dump as much as 10 inches of new snow before it moves out of the state late Tuesday.
Coastal Maine was expected to feel the brunt of the storm, forecasters said. Washington and Hancock counties also were under a coastal flood advisory through about 11 a.m. Tuesday, when high tide will occur.
Difficult travel conditions prompted the Maine Turnpike Authority to drop the speed limit from the New Hampshire line to Falmouth at the request of Maine State Police. Interstate 95 speed limits also were reduced to 45 mph in the the southern part of the state.
Reuters reported Monday that numerous highway crashes occurred throughout New England, including in Connecticut where a chartered bus headed to a casino rolled over on a busy interstate highway. Nineteen passengers, three of whom were critically injured, were taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment, the hospital said.
In Maine, slick travel conditions resulted in at least one tractor-trailer crash.
Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said Monday afternoon that a tractor-trailer that jackknifed about 2 p.m. in Alfred shut down travel on Route 202 for a few hours.
He said state police Trooper Matt Williams reported that a pickup traveling south on Route 202 slowed down and turned left onto Brock Road.
A tractor-trailer behind the pickup slowed to avoid a collision and jackknifed in the middle of the road. Roads in Alfred had just started to become snow-covered at the time of the crash, McCausland said.
He said the cab of the trailer truck was seriously damaged and the fuel tanks were punctured. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Department of Transportation were called to the area to clean up.
Parking bans were put into effect to accommodate cleanups of a different kind — snow removal. Bangor, Biddeford, Boothbay and Falmouth were among the locations in which vehicle owners had to find alternatives to on-street parking.
The transportation headaches weren’t limited to land. Late afternoon ferry service to North Haven was canceled because of high winds that accompanied the storm.
The inclement weather prompted at least 170 cancellations and postponements as of 7 p.m. Monday. The list likely will grow as the storm moves north.
By the time the storm is over, Greater Bangor could receive anywhere from 4 to 8 inches while up to 6 inches were expected in northern parts of Penobscot and Aroostook counties.
Lighter snow was expected in southern Maine, with 3 to 6 inches in the forecast for communities south and west of Augusta.
The winter weather advisories were expected to remain in effect through Tuesday afternoon, according to the weather service.