Rain, ice, snow mixture to hit northern Maine

CARIBOU – As if 39 inches of snow weren’t bad enough, now northern Maine is facing the prospect of a prolonged storm with freezing rain and ice, raising the prospect of power outages, officials said Wednesday.

The storm was expected to begin as snow but turn into freezing rain today, with the potential of up to three-quarters inch of ice coating roads, trees and buildings, the National Weather Service said.

Before it ends Friday, the precipitation was expected to turn back into snow, causing additional accumulations of 3 to 5 inches.

“It’s a complicated forecast – a potpourri of weather elements – and unfortunately, none of them really that good,” said Tony Sturey, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Caribou.

The biggest concern for buildup of ice was an area from Houlton westward to Baxter State Park and northward to the Quebec border, Sturey said. But portions of central Maine also could see freezing rain, as well, he said.

“With the freezing rain, it doesn’t take much to muck the whole thing up, where travel becomes difficult at best,” he said. The added weight also can topple tree limbs, trees and utility poles, disrupting electrical service.

Residents were cautioned to be prepared for possible power outages, said Vern Ouellette, director of the Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency.

The winter storm warning came as residents of northern Maine continued digging out from a storm that dumped as much as 39 inches in Fort Kent and St. Francis. Clayton Lake had 38 inches, Madawaska 37 inches and Caribou almost 32 inches.

“It’s adding insult to injury,” Sturey said.