Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

February 10

Blizzard blows away snowfall record

Historic amounts of snow combine with powerful wind gusts, creating monstrous drifts that complicate cleanup.

By John Richardson jrichardson@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

Maine got buried under record snowfalls and deep snowdrifts Saturday as a historic blizzard stalled travel, sent vehicles sliding off roads and knocked out electricity to thousands.

Between 2 and 3 feet of snow fell on most of southern and central Maine from Friday through Saturday afternoon, when the massive nor'easter finally moved off to the east, the snow ended and fierce winds began to ease.

A total of 31.9 inches of snow fell at the Portland International Jetport, smashing the previous single-storm record of 27.1 inches from January 1979.

The heaviest snowfall reported in the state Saturday was 35.5 inches in Gorham. Other totals included 32 inches in South Berwick, 30 inches in Westbrook, 27 inches in Saco, 24.5 inches in Hollis, 24 inches in Otisfield, 26.5 inches in Richmond and 25.5 inches in Lewiston.

Sunshine and temperatures in the high 20s to low 30s were expected Sunday, when the long, slow cleanup will continue in places such as downtown Portland.

"We've broken records. We've set history. But we need help from the people of Portland," Mayor Michael Brennan said Saturday, asking motorists and pedestrians to remain off city streets. "We're asking the people in the city to work with us to give us time to clean up the storm."

HARD STORM TO KEEP UP WITH

The combination of a historic snowfall, powerful winds and the storm's duration of nearly 36 hours made it especially hard to deal with.

The strongest wind recorded in Maine during the storm was at Matinicus, where a gust of 77 mph was recorded at 2 a.m. Saturday. Gusts of more than 50 mph were measured in Portland and Augusta on Saturday morning and most towns and cities in southern Maine recorded gusts of at least 40 mph.

In many areas, drifting snow buried cars Saturday and piled up against houses. Merely opening a door to get outside was difficult.

Transportation officials warned Mainers to stay off the roads Saturday because of blowing snow that created slick conditions and reduced visibility.

Dan Morin, spokesman for the Maine Turnpike Authority, rode with veteran plow truck drivers Friday night as the winds pushed snowdrifts back across the freshly plowed pavement.

"They said they haven't seen anything like this in their careers," he said. "They said the ice storm (of 1998) wasn't anything like this."

Police departments around the state reported numerous minor accidents and vehicles sliding off roads or getting stuck in snowbanks, particularly Friday night.

"Our resources are stretched responding to slide-offs and incidents. We may not be able to get to certain incidents," Morin said early Saturday.

In Westbrook, dispatcher Brad Scovil said plow trucks had to accompany police cruisers overnight as they responded to emergency calls in case the police vehicles became stuck.

In Scarborough, police temporarily closed a section of Running Hill Road because of snow drifts and white-out conditions.

Motorists appeared to heed the advice to stay off the roads Saturday afternoon, which prevented more accidents and more injuries, according to emergency officials. No major crashes were reported in southern Maine after a 19-car pileup in Cumberland early Friday.

TRAVELERS STRANDED

Mainers who stayed off the roads also did not go far using mass transportation Saturday.

All Saturday morning flights in and out of the Portland International Jetport were canceled. The first flight to arrive since mid-day Friday was a United Airways flight from Chicago and that landed shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday, about two hours behind schedule.

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