Drenched state waits as hurricane heads north

Remnants of Tropical Storm Bonnie moved up the East Coast into Maine on Friday, bringing sultry air and drenching rain to the region.

A flood watch remained in effect statewide as Bonnie’s remnants passed through.

After an expected break today with warm, dry weather forecast by the National Weather Service, Hurricane Charley – which battered Florida’s west coast Friday and caused a mass evacuation from that region – heads north, bringing the potential of more heavy rain and high winds to Maine on Sunday.

State officials and the American Red Cross urged residents to take the severe weather seriously and prepare for the worst.

“We don’t think of Maine as being at high risk for hurricanes,” said Art Cleaves, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency. “But we don’t need to get the full force of the storm to get wind damage, storm surges, inland flooding and even tornadoes.”

Andrew Mendes, Maine preparedness director for the American Red Cross, said Mainers should pay close attention to weather forecasts and stay tuned for any special instructions that may be issued.

On Friday, crews from the Maine Department of Transportation in Aroostook County cleaned up a mudslide on Route 161 and replaced washed-out culverts at several sites in the St. John Valley.

Elsewhere, rainfall washed out the final round of the Maine Open at Portland’s Riverside Golf Course, as well as other events throughout the state.

Both Portland and Augusta received 2.6 inches of rain, and other southern sections and the western highlands received more than 2 inches, the weather service said.

Allagash received 3 inches of rain, Fort Kent got 4.2 inches, and Madawaska received 2.9 inches.

Bangor accumulated about 1.5 inches and saw wind gusts of up to 28 mph.

The weather service also said heavy rain in parts of Washington and Hancock counties created the potential for flooding in low-lying areas such as ditches and underpasses.

In Somerset County, stream water levels were rising slowly but were still far below flood stage, said county Emergency Management Agency Director Robert Higgins.

“We are getting some water rise in the North Anson area,” said Higgins, “but it is only at 1,140 cubic feet per second, while flood stage is 1,780.”

He said the Kennebec River at The Forks and Bingham was well below alarm levels, as was the Sebasticook River at Pittsfield.

“We have problems in the St. John Valley,” Dana Chasse, DOT region superintendent, said Friday afternoon. The crews were working as quickly as possible to repair roads and take care of other problems, he said.

Chasse said there was a lot of “localized flooding” on Route 161 west of Fort Kent. The mudslide, which occurred around 10 a.m., was at a site known as the Narrow Gauge between St. Francis and Allagash. It closed both lanes of the road for about four hours.

Eight miles west of Fort Kent, also on Route 161, there were flooded culverts. There were also washed-out culverts on South Perley Brook Road.

Route 11 south of Fort Kent experienced washouts in some sections. Water covered the road near Plaisted Village, north of Eagle Lake.

“The water is high everywhere,” Chasse said.

Water levels stayed well within normal range for the day in Penobscot County, according to county Emergency Management Agency Director Tom Robertson. Unlike Florida, Maine’s rolling terrain makes flooding less likely, Robertson said.

“One thing we don’t notice as much is that Florida is dead flat,” Robertson said. “So it doesn’t take much of a storm surge to wreak havoc.”

Emergency management services will continue to monitor the storms, according to Robertson.

Aug. 19 marks the 13th anniversary of Hurricane Bob, which caused widespread power outages, flooding and toppled trees in Maine.

Also in 1991, the state was hit with the “Perfect Storm,” which resulted from a tropical system. It caused $2.5 million in coastal damage and hit the lobster-fishing fleet hard.

A coastal storm pulling much of its tropical moisture from circulation around Hurricane Lily in 1996 flooded parts of southern Maine with up to 19 inches of rain, causing one death and $9 million in damage.

In 1999, Hurricane Floyd’s heavy rains caused $1.2 million in road and public property damage in Maine, MEMA said.