Rain, lightning hit state for a second day

For the second straight day, many people in Maine on Tuesday found themselves cringing from booming thunder, torrential rain and flashing lightning.

Numerous warnings were in place on Monday for severe thunderstorms, as well as tornadoes, but only the former was confirmed.

There were no reports of tornado activity, but heavy wind, rain and hail knocked down power lines and trees, causing hazardous driving conditions and leaving many homes without power.

“Unfortunately we’re back in the hot seat, we didn’t get a chance to dissect last night’s storms as much as we’d like to,” Mark Turner, hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Caribou said Tuesday.

Several areas in the state recorded large amounts of rainfall, including 3 to 31/2 inches between 8:30 and 9:30 Monday night.

Staff reporters for the NWS recorded these amounts of rainfall in that hour:

. 2 inches in Dexter, accompanied by heavy hail.

. 2.1 inches in the Sebec Lake region.

. 1.5 inches in Eddington.

. 2.25 inches in Kenduskeag.

On Tuesday, the NWS had issued watches before noon for severe thunderstorms in the area from central Penobscot to northern Washington counties.

The storms traveled from west to east, Turner said, and hit the coastal region of the state by late afternoon.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for eastern and central Washington County, southern and central Penobscot County, central Hancock County and southwestern Washington County.

Additionally, 75 mph wind gusts tore through Aurora in Hancock County, dropping golf ball sized hail, meteorologist Sonia Mark said Tuesday night.

The NWS did issue a tornado warning in eastern and central Washington County, but whether one occurred had not been verified, Mark said.

The Greenbush Fire Department responded to a tree that fell on wires around 2:30 p.m, the town office clerk said. The fire department was dispatched to clean debris from the roadway, which resulted from the 15 to 20 minute storm. The Alton Fire Department also was dispatched to clear trees from the roads.

The Bangor State Fair canceled its Yankee Hitch demonstration because the owner of the horses didn’t want to get the harnesses wet and because the track was slippery, Bangor State Fair spokesman Mike Dyer, said.

Bangor Hydro listed 23 towns with power outages on Tuesday night, while Central Maine Power recorded 21 towns with outages, which were scattered throughout the state.