A CAR TRAVELS along flooded State Road in Bath on Sunday. Record-setting rainfall over the weekend washed out roads, prompted river flood warnings and created treacherous travel conditions. Below, a car sits in the water after part of a parking lot along Soper Road in Durham collapsed.

A CAR TRAVELS along flooded State Road in Bath on Sunday. Record-setting rainfall over the weekend washed out roads, prompted river flood warnings and created treacherous travel conditions. Below, a car sits in the water after part of a parking lot along Soper Road in Durham collapsed.

BRUNSWICK — Record-setting heavy rains that caused minor flooding, closed roads and hampered weekend activities have let up across much of the state, but the days ahead promise more showers.

BOB CONN / THE TIMES RECORD

BOB CONN / THE TIMES RECORD

Some areas received close to or more than 6 inches of rain since Saturday morning, and the National Weather Service issued flood warnings Sunday across much of Maine and parts of New Hampshire as heavy rains continued falling.

The weather service said early today that the rain had let up, moving to northern and eastern Maine, but it warned of scattered showers and little sunshine over the next few days.

“We have this upper-level low sitting pretty much over the Great Lakes now, and it’ll just sit there and spin,” said meteorologist Mike Kistner. “So it looks like there’ll be showers the whole workweek. I won’t say it’ll be a washout, but there’ll be showery, unsettled weather through at least Thursday.”

A coastal flood warning for coastal Maine remained in effect into early this morning.

State and local transportation officials said numerous roads were closed or impassable because of standing water.

Peter Owen, director of the Bath Department of Public Works, said areas in the city that typically flood during heavy rain are all underwater today.

Among them are the Pine Hill neighborhood, Willow Street and near VIP Auto on State Road.

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“We get this much water this fast, there’s no place for the water to go,” he said.

Brunswick police reported no major storm-related damage.

Many pilots skipped the Brunswick International Fly- In on Saturday because they feared getting stranded at the aircraft show, a spokeswoman said. Last year, more than 300 aircraft participated, but this year only a few airplanes and a helicopter had arrived by afternoon.

Mike Labbe, Topsham’s emergency management director, said the flats area along Meadow Road is flooded as usual in heavy rains and signs have been posted at the start of Meadow Road in Topsham as well as after Meadow Cross Road, detouring traffic down Meadow Cross Road.

Ward Road sustained some damage over the weekend that required emergency repair by crews from Harry C. Crooker and Sons. Without the repair, Labbe said, the road would have collapsed. He plans to monitor water levels near houses on River Road, where Androscoggin River flood waters block the driveway to one residence.

Labbe and Topsham Public Works Director Dennis Cox also plan to monitor water levels along Pinewood Drive off Foreside Road — particularly at high tide this afternoon and late tonight during an astronomically high tide.

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Richmond Fire Chief Andrew Pierce this morning reported flooding of roads near Pleasant Pond, on Route 197 as well as Thorofare Road, as well as flooding on Weeks and Langdon roads.

A surprise to Pierce, given the higher than normal water levels the town has had in years, no one had called the department for help with flooded basements as of about 9 a.m.

Bowdoin Fire Chief Tom Garrepy said flooding on Dead River Road required him to close a narrow bridge that is usually a flooding spot, but this morning he said the water already was subsiding so he didn’t anticipate further problems.

Water covered a number of smaller roads in Bowdoin, spurring Garrepy to reduce traffic to one lane. Robert’s Road had some washouts and Academy Road had one washout, so both were reduced to one lane but still passable.

“It’s just a matter now of working with our (road commissioner) to get things cleaned up and the town back in order,” Garrepy said.

In Freeport, Hunter Road was closed for about four hours Sunday but is now open. Freeport Fire Chief Darrel Fournier said this morning that his department also pumped out eight cellars during the weekend to prevent furnaces from flooding.

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More than 6 inches was recorded in Durham. This morning, a portion of northern Route 136, near Auburn, remained closed due to flooding after multiple roads were closed Sunday.

Just under 6 inches fell in numerous towns and cities in southern and central Maine, with the highest amounts in Portland, Auburn, Windham, Cumberland and Westbrook.

Portland received a record 3.63 inches of rain on Saturday, the fourth-wettest day recorded in June in 141 years of record-keeping.

In New Hampshire, several towns had received more than 3 inches as of Saturday morning, with amounts expected to rise during the day, the weather service said.

The rains put a damper on weekend activities.

In Maine, pounding rain and slippery conditions caused officials at Saturday’s Class A outdoor track and field state championships in Windham to move the pole vault competition to Wednesday.

In New Hampshire, the Prescott Park Arts Festival postponed its annual Chowder Fest in Portsmouth, while a day of free family activities to commemorate the state’s new Hampton Beach Sea Shell complex was put off.

Strong winds and rains created problems with large tents that had been set up along a section of Hampton’s Ocean Boulevard for the event.

“Unfortunately, with the wind and the strong rain, we — for the safety of the general public, for our entertainers and for the many, many people who volunteered for a lot of our events — we had to cancel over 25 events today,” John Nyhan, chairman of the Hampton Beach Area Commission, told the Portsmouth Herald.


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