Winter snowstorm wallops Maine, causes widespread cancellations, fatal accident

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BANGOR – A storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on some parts of Maine caused massive school and business cancellations Monday and made for treacherous traveling throughout much of the state.

The weather was blamed for at least one fatality: A mother was killed and her child injured in a three-car pileup that happened in Topsham as the snow began falling Monday morning, Topsham police said.

Otherwise, police reported only a handful of serious accidents.

Areas of central and eastern Maine appeared hardest hit by the storm, which re-blanketed much of northern New England in white after about a week of unusually warm weather.

Gardiner got pounded with 20 inches, while Denmark and Acton received 16 and 14 inches, respectively, according to the National Weather Service.

The town of Topsfield in northern Washington County had received a foot of snow by Monday evening, with more likely on the way. Other areas along the coast, such as Deer Isle, were looking at less than half that amount.

“The numbers are kind of all over the place,” observed Rich Norton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Caribou. “There are a couple of areas that are over 10 inches … but most are reporting 4 to 8 inches.”

The National Weather Service forecast 5 to 10 inches of snow along the coast, from 7 to 13 inches in eastern and central Maine, and lesser amounts in the mountains and northern areas.

Southern Aroostook was under a heavy snow warning until this morning, while central and northern Aroostook were not expected to receive as much snow.

In Houlton, snow began falling just after 12:30 p.m. but it had yet to begin snowing in Fort Kent or Madawaska as of 5 p.m.

The snow came fast and heavy over much of the rest of Maine, piling up faster than snowplows could move it. That kept state and local police busy responding to largely fender benders, jack-knifed tractor-trailers and stranded vehicles.

“There were dozens and dozens of cars off the road during the height of the storm when it was whiteout conditions for much of the state,” said state police spokesman Stephen McCausland.

Southbound lanes of I-295 were shut down for more than an hour north of Topsham because a tractor-trailer jackknifed, and another tractor-trailer blocked the southbound lanes of I-95 briefly between Falmouth and Westbrook.

The Portland International Jetport recorded 10.5 inches of snow at 4 p.m., surpassing the old record for the date of 9 inches in 1982. The airport reported numerous flight cancellations on Monday. A dispatcher at Bangor International Airport said Monday evening he was aware of some delays, but no cancellations of flights.

The threat of snow forced the cancellation of a field hearing by the U.S. Senate oceans, atmosphere and fisheries subcommittee in Ellsworth on the impact on fishermen of rules aimed at saving North American right whales.

The storm also prompted many schools and businesses to close early – or simply not open at all.

Maine state offices closed in the afternoon, some legislative meetings were canceled and federal courts closed early. The Bangor Mall shut down at 5:30 p.m.

The University of Maine at Orono, meanwhile, canceled all classes after 2 p.m. on the first day of the spring semester. University spokesman Joe Carr said classes were expected to resume at 8 a.m. today.

“Whether it’s the first day of classes or the middle of the semester it really doesn’t make any difference,” Carr said.

The storm snarled traffic and caused accidents throughout New England.

A man was killed on Interstate 91 in Brattleboro, Vt., early Monday, but police did not say if the accident was weather-related.

The Vermont State Police said Michael Watson of Berlin, N.H., was headed south just after 5 a.m. when his vehicle went into the median and rolled several times before coming to rest in the northbound lane.

Watson was thrown from his vehicle and then run over by a northbound tractor-trailer.

In New Hampshire, where some areas had received between 10 and 13 inches by the evening, the Legislature canceled all scheduled events, including a meeting of a special commission looking at the state’s school funding problems.

The National Guard postponed a morning ribbon cutting ceremony for a new command center that Gov. John Lynch and members of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation had been scheduled to attend.

The wintry weather follows a springlike weather pattern in which much of the snow from December melted away.

The storm is the latest of many that have dropped significant amounts of snow in the region.

Before the latest storm, Concord, N.H., had gotten 54 inches of snow for the winter season, while nearly 44 inches had fallen on Portland and 49 inches on Bangor.