Maine is bracing for yet another winter storm, one that could be sloppy on the coast and very snowy inland.

The National Weather Service in Gray issued a winter storm warning for most of Maine on Wednesday, except for coastal York County, which is expected to get a mix of rain, snow and sleet.

“It’s expected to be a pretty darn good winter storm here,” said Margaret Curtis of the weather service. “If you’re a skier, it looks like a great storm.”

Snowfall could reach 2 feet in the mountains and about 1 foot throughout central Maine.

Closer to the coast, the snowfall forecast drops off sharply: 8 to 10 inches in Portland, and as little as 2 to 4 inches in Cape Elizabeth, with both getting periods of sleet and rain, Curtis said.

Coastal York County likely will get a couple of inches of wet, heavy snow mixed with rain and sleet.

Light snow will fall Wednesday morning, with heavy snowfall starting after 2 p.m.

“It’s just going to be a mess,” said Tom Hawley of the weather service. “There could be issues with street flooding in Portland.”

The heaviest snowfall will be overnight, and by the time it winds down Thursday morning, commuters could be facing a treacherous drive.

So far, Portland has received 79 inches of snow this season, 27.7 inches more than the average accumulation of 51.3 inches, Hawley said.

The average temperature this winter – December, January and February – was 22.6 degrees, 3 degrees below normal, according to weather service data.

The winter of 1970-71 was both the coldest on record in Maine, with an average temperature of 17.9 degrees in Portland, and the snowiest, with 141.5 inches.

David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:

dhench@pressherald.com

Twitter: @Mainehenchman