Heavy rains and winds that caused more than 100,000 customers to lose power Thursday and Friday were expected to subside substantially in much of Maine, aiding crews as they readied to work through the night and into Saturday if necessary.
The rain in the Portland area was expected to “clear out” by about 7 p.m., but some heavy rain could continue until about midnight or so from Augusta east to the Midcoast, said Jon Palmer, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Gray.
During the day Friday, wind gusts of 50 miles an hour were reported in York and Arundel, and 45 miles an hour at Portland, but the heavy winds had ended in southern Maine by late afternoon, Palmer said.
Counting those who lost power late Thursday night, about 106,000 Central Maine Power customers had outages at some point by early Friday evening, said Catharine Hartnett, a CMP spokesperson. By about 9 p.m. there were 24,964 CMP customers still without power, according to the company’s website. Of those, 6,564 were in Androscoggin County, 5,789 in York County, 3,979 in Kennebec County, 3,844 in Cumberland County, 1,839 in Sagadahoc County and 1,395 in Lincoln County.
Versant Power, which serves eastern and northern Maine, listed 123 customers without power around the same time Friday.
A Portland Water Resources worker clears a drain on Deering Avenue in Portland on Friday afternoon. A blocked drain nearby was causing flooding on the road. Michele McDonald/Photo editor
A flood watch issued Thursday night by the weather service was to remain in effect through Saturday morning. There were also more flood warnings issued Friday for areas around Fryeburg, Rumford and Portland east to Augusta, Palmer said, but those warnings were set to expire early Friday evening.
In Portland, police said there were reports of water in some roadways, but not enough to close roads or cause major problems.
In some urban areas, including Portland, poor drainage left standing water in roads as storm drains became clogged with debris and fallen leaves.
CMP was expecting its crews to restore power in more areas Friday night into Saturday as winds eased.
The wind and rain have caused wet leaves to cover roadways and storm drains, which makes the roads slick and have areas of standing water. Driving on roads covered with wet leaves is similar to driving on road covered in ice. #mewx #nhwx pic.twitter.com/giGngTXGqo
— NWS Gray (@NWSGray) October 14, 2022
“Working safely in these winds is our highest priority and we cannot send crews up in buckets when the winds gust near 40 mph,” said Adam Desrosiers, vice president of electric operations, in a statement late Friday afternoon. “We expect the winds to ease this evening and our crews will work through the night if needed to continue to restore customers.”
The utility company, which provides electricity to about 665,000 customers, said it will have 175 of its line workers available during the storm. CMP also said it has retained 180 private contractors. Those contractors and more than 100 tree crews have been deployed across the company’s service territory.
Staff Writer Ray Routhier contributed to this story
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