‘Nuisance’ storm throws rain, ice, snow at state

BANGOR – State road crews took a break from salting the roads late Tuesday afternoon. Some ate dinner at home with their families in anticipation of a long night ahead of them.

“They know something’s coming,” Carl Dentremont, a radio operator with the Maine Department of Transportation in Bangor, said Tuesday afternoon.

As the day and night progressed, MDOT officials kept careful watch on the weather forecast, from their own private forecasters, the National Weather Service, even the Internet, assessing what plan of attack would be needed, Dentremont said.

More rain would mean additional salt to prevent it from freezing on the roads, while snow would prompt salt and plowing.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory and was predicting slippery conditions in many places in Maine.

Temperatures were expected to rise as the precipitation moved in, though it still meant that many places would remain below freezing, according to the NWS.

The northern reaches of the state were to get a few inches of snow, while southern Maine was expected to receive several hours of sleet and freezing rain.

“It’s going to be more of a nuisance storm than anything,” Dentremont said. “This isn’t anything we can’t handle.”

Central Maine Power Co. was bracing for the prospects of power outages and early in the day warned that people should stay away from downed lines should they encounter them.

The power company also urged people to take precautions, such as stocking up on supplies and flashlights and keeping warm.

Local police and dispatching agencies reported relatively few accidents, something they attributed to motorists taking precautions.

Between 4 p.m. and about 9:15 p.m., the Bangor Police Department received two reports of accidents. That’s less than police would handle on a busy city night, said Lt. Mark Hathaway.

Old Town police Officer Tom Adams said that road crews in that city were keeping up with the storm and that there was little traffic on the streets and roads.

“It seems to be a lot less traffic,” Adams said about conditions at 8:30 p.m.

And that was a good thing. Had the storm begun earlier, when motorists were heading home, it could have been a lot worse, the Old Town officer said. Other motorists who may have been out and about opted to stay in Tuesday night, police officials said.

Earlier in the day, the Maine State Police urged drivers to slow down and expect a variety of road conditions as a result of freezing rain, sleet and snow expected to hit most of the state.