A nor’easter that pummeled much of the East Coast Sunday and Monday lingered over Maine on Tuesday causing several accidents and dumping from 6 inches to more than a foot of snow and sleet.
By late afternoon, the Maine Turnpike Authority had reported two traffic accidents involving tractor-trailers. Just after 4 p.m., the authority tweeted that a tractor-trailer had crashed in Saco at mile 36 northbound. A few minutes later, the authority tweeted that another tractor-trailer had jackknifed at mile 16 northbound in Wells. Both blocked traffic and caused delays.
In Westbrook, two cars collided on Route 302 near Elmwood Avenue on Tuesday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. Police closed the road temporarily while wreckers towed the vehicles, and News Center Maine reported that the motorists received minor injuries. Accidents in Bridgton on Knights Hill Road and in Lebanon were reported around 5 p.m.
Two teenagers were killed Monday night in a head-on collision on Route 4 in Sandy River Plantation, but Maine State Police, who are investigating the crash, have not said whether snow was a factor. It began snowing over most of Maine Monday evening.
Rick Wallace clears a sidewalk with a snowblower during the storm Tuesday in Freeport. Associated Press/Robert F. Bukaty
The bulk of the snow fell Monday night into Tuesday morning over southern Maine, closing offices and schools and creating dangerous driving conditions. The snow fell at rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour in some areas before it turned to sleet Tuesday afternoon.
Chris Kimble, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, said that with the exception of a few sleet showers, most of the precipitation over southern Maine ended around 5 p.m. Kimble said the forecast for Wednesday was for cloudy skies, highs in the 30s, with possible light snow.
Power outages were not a factor Tuesday. As of 5:30 p.m., Central Maine Power reported 265 outages, and the number dropped to four by 7:30 p.m. Versant Power, which provides electricity to customers in northern and Down East Maine, reported more than 4,600 outages at 5:30 p.m., but just three at 7:30 p.m.
The sprawling, lumbering winter storm walloped the Eastern U.S. on Monday, affecting areas from the Carolinas to Maine, causing at least three deaths in Pennsylvania and shutting down coronavirus vaccine clinics across the Northeast.
Parts of New Jersey got 30 inches of snow, and about 17 inches fell in New York City, the Associated Press reported.
In Maine, state and municipal officials prepared for the storm Monday by announcing closures, implementing parking bans and asking people to stay off the roads. Schools took a split approach to the storm, with some districts announcing remote learning days Tuesday while others called for a traditional snow day.
John Lebo shovels snow from a driveway in Biddeford on Tuesday. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
The National Weather Service in Gray issued a winter storm warning for all of Maine until 7 a.m. Wednesday.
The weather service posted snowfall amounts at 5 p.m. Those totals were not likely to change significantly overnight.
In Cumberland County, Scarborough and South Portland got the most snow with 8.9 inches and 8 inches respectively. Portland received 7. 4 inches of snow, Yarmouth 6.7 and Westbrook 6.5 inches. Snowfall accumulation in York County was noticeably higher. Kittery reported 13.8 inches, Eliot 12 inches, Wells 9 inches and Old Orchard Beach 8 inches.
Towns in higher elevation areas reported higher snowfall totals Tuesday. Brownfield in Oxford County got 13 inches of snow while Salem in Franklin County reported 15 inches and Rangeley 10 inches. Accumulations in central and midcoast Maine were much lower, with Augusta getting just 4.5 inches and Rockport 6.5 inches.
“The real winners are down in New Hampshire in Rockingham County,” said Margaret Curtis of the National Weather Service in Gray. Hampton Beach had received 14.8 inches of snow by Tuesday morning.
The weather service on Tuesday issued a coastal flood warning for York County and a coastal flood advisory for Cumberland, Waldo, Sagadahoc, Lincoln and Knox counties. With high seas and 20-foot waves, Curtis said coastal York County could see “quite a lot” of erosion and splash over at high tide Tuesday afternoon.
The storm disrupted COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Maine. MaineHealth announced that COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Westbrook and at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, Western Maine Health/Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway, LincolnHealth in Boothbay and Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast were cancelled Tuesday. Those who had appointments Tuesday will be contacted to reschedule within seven days.
Despite the storm, Northern Light Health conducted its high-volume vaccination clinic at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Tuesday.
At the Portland International Jetport, a half-dozen flights scheduled to depart Tuesday morning were canceled. Afternoon and evening flights appeared to be on schedule.
The Maine Legislature postponed all public hearings and work sessions scheduled for Tuesday, and all state offices were closed.
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