A fast-moving winter storm is expected to sweep across Maine Saturday night and dump a half a foot of ski-ready snow before heading into the Gulf of Maine Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service office in Gray.

Meteorologist Eric Schwibs described the storm as nimble and well-behaved, moving east to west in a quick, orderly fashion that will result in 6 to 8 inches of snow in all of the state but Rockland, which could see 2 inches less. Generally, more snow is expected in the south than the north.

The southern counties are under a winter storm warning, a label applied when meteorologists predict more than 6 inches of snow over 12 hours. The rest of the state is under a winter storm advisory, which applies to storms that will result in less than 6 inches of snow.

“It will be a good ski snow,” Schwibs said. “A powdery snow, especially inland.”

The snowfall and falling temperatures are likely to result in slippery roads, he said.

The heaviest snowfall – as much as an inch per hour – will occur early Sunday morning, Schwibs said. Snow is expected to stop in southern Maine by sunrise, but could linger in the Down East area until as late as noon.

Portland has declared a citywide parking ban that will cover 10 p.m. Saturday through 9 a.m. Sunday. Vehicles left on city streets can be towed at the owner’s expense. Those who use a snow ban parking area, such as a school lot or Hacklock Field, must remove their vehicles by 10 a.m.

For more information, call the Portland parking ban hotline at 879-0300.

Scarborough will ban on-street parking from 10 p.m. Saturday to 4 p.m. Sunday, while a Falmouth ban runs 8 p.m. Saturday to 6 p.m. Sunday. Biddeford and Saco bans run from 10 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday. Auburn and Lewiston’s ban starts 8 p.m. Saturday. Auburn’s wraps at 6 p.m. Sunday and Lewiston’s at 4 p.m.


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