State offices shut down, schools closed, Portland imposed an early parking ban, bus service out of Portland was canceled and most drivers stayed off the roads Wednesday as Mainers did their best to cope with the latest snowstorm to blanket the state.
And another round is in sight.
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The National Weather Service in Gray said it is tracking a system that is expected to move into the region Saturday, bringing the possibility of another 3 to 6 inches of snow.
“We are in a very active weather pattern right now,” meteorologist John Cannon said Wednesday night.
Snow began falling in southern Maine around daybreak Wednesday. It subsided by late afternoon, with Portland getting 7.4 inches. Combined with Tuesday’s milder storm, Portland received 10.5 inches over two days.
Snowfall on Wednesday varied, with 6 inches falling in Sanford, 10 inches in Windham, 8 inches in Bridgton, 7 inches in Gray, 9 inches in Augusta, 11 inches in Bath and 12 inches in Bristol.
Slight increases were possible overnight as another round of snow moved in. Cannon said Portland would likely get another inch, and the mountain regions stood to get as much as 4 more inches.
Portland banned on-street parking at 6 p.m. — four hours earlier than normal for snowstorms. Nicole Clegg, the city’s spokeswoman, said officials decided to ban parking early because most businesses downtown closed for the day.
With few cars and pedestrians on city streets, Clegg said, it made sense to give public works crews more time to clear streets and sidewalks.
Jan Beitzer, executive director of Portland’s Downtown District, said most businesses were closed Wednesday. She said a handful of restaurants and coffee shops remained open.
Even DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant on Commercial Street shut down — a rare occurrence.
“We just don’t do that,” said Dan DiMillo. He said his father, Tony DiMillo, who started the restaurant, “is probably turning over in his grave right now.”
The Maine Mall in South Portland shut down at noon Wednesday.
It’s likely to take at least a day to get transportation services back on track. Nationally, thousands of flights were canceled because of the storm.
That affected the Portland International Jetport, which remained open Wednesday. Flights out of Portland to places such as New York and Washington, D.C., were canceled.
Concord Coach Lines, which operates bus service out of the Portland Transportation Center, canceled all 14 of its trips to Boston on Wednesday, as well as several runs to Augusta, Bangor and Searsport.
“It’s not something we normally do,” said David Gagnon, a ticket agent for Concord Coach Lines.
Regular bus service is expected to resume today.
Amtrak’s Downeaster service to Boston dropped one train and consolidated two others on Wednesday. Its trains to and from Boston were running about two hours late.
State police reported a handful of minor accidents, but no major problems with traffic.
“A lot of businesses closed down, as well as most schools, which kept cars off the roads,” said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
The speed limit on the Maine Turnpike was lowered to 45 mph at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, and that limit remained in effect through Wednesday, said spokesman Scott Tompkins. No major accidents were reported on the turnpike.
“I’m told it was surprisingly quiet. People took heed that this was going to be a significant storm and stayed home,” Tompkins said.
In Portland, traffic was extremely light during the morning commute. One driver who braved the storm was Zac Storey, who drives a cab with ASAP Taxi in Portland. Several of his fares were people with medical appointments for chronic illnesses.
“I also had some people who didn’t want to drive to work or stand out in this and wait for the bus,” Storey said.
Most state and local government offices closed for the day. Gov. Paul LePage ordered state offices closed at noon. Portland closed City Hall and municipal offices for the day.
Cannon, the meteorologist, said today’s forecast is for partly sunny skies with high temperatures in the lower 20s.
Cannon said he is tracking yet another storm, which could bring mixed precipitation to the state Monday night.
He said many of the storms that the state has gotten lately have begun over the center of the country, moved into the Gulf of Mexico and gathered moisture, then moved up the coast into New England, where the moisture turns to snow.
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:
emurphy@pressherald.com
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