A powerful nor’easter that slammed Maine with heavy snow and strong winds on Thursday is expected to ease up as it continues into the weekend.
As of 9:25 p.m. Thursday, Maine’s two electric utilities reported a total of 293,875 customers without power, down from almost 330,000 at 3 p.m.
Lingering rain and snow from the storm is expected through Saturday.
Timing
The worst of the storm with the heaviest snow and strongest winds were through the early afternoon hours of Thursday.
We’ll see gradual improvements through the afternoon as snow lightens up and winds back off.
Snow will continue off and on through Friday morning, turning over to rain by Friday afternoon outside the mountains.
Lingering rain and snow showers will persist all the way through Saturday afternoon.
Totals
Maine is still on track to see significant amounts of snow, with a foot or more possible even along the coast.
York County, western Maine and the mountains will likely see the highest totals, with 2 feet or more in isolated spots.
Otherwise expect a general 12 to 18 inches for those away from the coast.
Winds
Winds were forecast to gust up to 55 mph through noon along the coast, up to 45 mph inland.
Power outage numbers were expected climb due to the heavy wet snow and wind, but the utilities were outpacing the outages as of Thursday night.
At 9:25 p.m. Thursday, Central Maine Power reported 289,168 outages across its service area, down more than 25,000 from late morning, while Versant Power reported 4,707 outages, down almost 10,000 from the early afternoon.
Expect multiple days without power due to the widespread nature of outages expected.
Flooding
While coastal flooding is not expected to be close to January levels, splash over, erosion and minor coastal flooding were expected around the 7:30 a.m. high tide. Coastal Cumberland and York counties were to see the highest water levels.
After the storm finally ends on Saturday evening, Sunday will feature clearing skies and a return to milder temps in the mid- to upper 40s.
Next week you can expect temperatures in the 50s and 60s with sunshine, which means the snow will melt quickly!
Eclipse
The forecast continues to look like the best in the entire country along the eclipse path.
The influx of visitors is likely to be unlike anything anyone in the mountains of Maine has ever seen before. Sunny skies and mild temperatures mean our view will be amazing.
BDN writers contributed updates to this story.