Storm deals one-two-three punch Snow, rain and ice make for rocky Wednesday, but ice storm likely averted

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A powerful winter storm left nearly a foot of fresh snow Wednesday in portions of Maine, knocking out power, closing businesses and schools, and creating travel headaches.

Highway speed limits were reduced because of slick roads and poor visibility. Flights in and out of airports were canceled, and bus service was canceled and delayed.

As the storm wound down Wednesday night, officials said they were optimistic that it would move out of the region before the precipitation could freeze and usher in an ice storm.

“There’s some icing out there, but right now we’re thinking that the timing is going to be on our side,” MEMA Director Rob McAleer said Wednesday night. The storm “seems to be stabilizing for us.”

Central Maine Power enlisted all available work crews to restore power to more than 73,000 customers – 24,000 of them in the Lewiston service area. Portland, Augusta and Alfred were also among the hardest-hit areas.

Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. reported a peak of more than 3,000 outages due to heavy snow and icing, virtually all of them in Washington County, Wednesday afternoon, but said later that service had been restored to all of those affected.

As CMP outage figures rose, Maine Gov. John Baldacci issued an emergency declaration that allows drivers to work extra hours to restore power in affected areas. It also allows crews from other states to help with repairs.

Snow-weary residents once again were forced to navigate treacherous roads, which became flooded in many areas after the snow turned into rain.

The storm prompted state government to shut down, and the Legislature called off its session for the day and postponed public hearings.

Road conditions and speed were factors in a noontime accident that sent a 20-year-old woman to the hospital and shut down Route 15 in Bucksport for about an hour. Police did not immediately release the names or addresses of those involved.

According to Bucksport police Officer David Winchester, the accident occurred near the Bucksport-Orrington line, when a vehicle driven by a 38-year-old man crossed the centerline and struck the woman’s car head-on. The impact of the crash pushed the woman’s car into a third vehicle.

Rescue crews from the Bucksport Fire Department had to use hydraulic tools to remove the woman from her car. She was taken by ambulance to a Bangor hospital with injuries to her leg. The man suffered minor injuries, but was not hospitalized.

The roads were very wet and slushy at the time of the accident and the man was driving too fast for the road conditions, Winchester said.

The two vehicles involved in the crash were considered a total loss. The third vehicle had minor damage.

Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department assisted Bucksport crews at the scene and Orrington rescuers also responded.

Troop E of the Maine State Police, which handles Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, covered about 10 accidents by midafternoon Wednesday but reported no serious injuries, according to Sgt. Mark Brooks. The number of accidents was far less than expected, since school and business cancellations resulted in reduced traffic, he said.

“We were prepared for the day of the year,” said Brooks. “The interstate today was as quiet as we’ve seen it in quite some time. What we’re posturing for at this minute is the evening, and the issues for tonight and in the morning whenever [the water] decides to freeze.”

In Ellsworth, all matters in Hancock County Superior Court and Ellsworth District Court were postponed, which wasn’t surprising, but a number of area businesses closed their doors as well.

The Maine Grind coffee shop and JB Atlantic, an eclectic shop featuring home goods and antiques, didn’t welcome customers to their Main Street establishments because of the foul weather.

The city saw only a handful of minor accidents, mostly in the morning, including one that damaged a fire hydrant at the corner of Water and Main streets.

Slippery conditions in central Maine challenged even veteran drivers.

Pittsfield Police Chief Steve Emery, who had to drive to Waterville Wednesday morning, said upon his return to Pittsfield, “It was white knuckles all the way.”

The Somerset County Sheriff’s Department reported a tractor-trailer jackknifed on Route 201 in Madison, with no injuries, and Newport Rescue responded to a call that a middle-aged man had slipped on ice at a local real estate office and was suffering from a head injury.

Residents were quick to offer help, however, to those in difficulty. When one vehicle became stuck in a snowbank on Main Street in Pittsfield, several engineers from Kleinschmidt Associates helped push the car free.

As the morning snow subsided and gave way instead to heavy rain in the afternoon in much of the state, reports of flooding began to inundate police dispatchers.

Road crews were doing double duty, trying to clear roads of snow and ice, and keep storm drains open to prevent street flooding.

Low-lying parts of Bangor, including the city’s bowl-shaped downtown, experienced minor flooding Wednesday.

Bangor Public Works Director Dana Wardwell attributed the flooding to catch basins that were covered with ice and snow. He said that road maintenance crews had been called out throughout the day to clear them.

Freezing precipitation was likely to target some interior sections, leaving a coating of up to a half-inch of ice that could cause power outages.

“This snow may be heavy and sticky, and after the changeover there could be significant icing in some areas – this kind of weather can be hard on our system,” said CMP spokesman John Carroll.

Late Wednesday, the National Weather Service lifted winter storm warnings in coastal areas, but posted flood warnings along the coast, in urban areas and along small streams in southwestern Maine and southern New Hampshire.

Forecasters said the storm would move out to sea Wednesday night and precipitation would gradually end. Sunny skies and seasonable temperatures are expected today.

Wednesday’s storm meanwhile continued to add to the already impressive snowfall totals throughout the state.

Bangor had received 69.8 inches through Tuesday, while more than 125 inches had fallen in Caribou.

Through Tuesday, Portland had received 71.5 inches for the season, far above the 43.6-inch average for the date, according to the National Weather Service. Last year at this time, only 15.7 inches had fallen in Portland.

BDN reporters Dawn Gagnon, Rich Hewitt, Sharon Kiley Mack, Toni-Lynn Robbins and Eric Russell contributed to this report.