Winter storm likely to bring over a foot of snow to parts of Maine

A winter storm is expected to bring up to 18 inches of snow to parts of Maine on Saturday, and on Friday had already resulted in canceled flights, a two-night parking ban in Portland and a rescheduling of high school tournament games.

Cesar Juarez, an employee at AC Hotel Portland, clears snow from the driveway in high winds on Thursday morning. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

The storm was expected to arrive in the Portland area around 1 a.m. Saturday and bring 8 to 12 inches of snow. York County could see higher snowfall totals, with 12 to 18 inches expected, according to Stephen Baron, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray.

“Most of Maine won’t see any snow until after midnight,” Baron said in an interview early Friday evening.

Snowfall totals will decrease further north, though the Augusta area is also expected to get 8 to 12 inches. The western Maine mountains and Rangeley are expected to see 6 to 8 inches, Baron said.

On Friday, the storm had already prompted flight cancellations, the rescheduling of several championship games in the state high school basketball tournament, and a two-night parking ban in Portland.

“Due to a significant winter weather system expected to impact Portland, several of our carriers have implemented travel advisories,” the Portland International Jetport said in a winter travel advisory on its website. “Several flights have already cancelled in advance of the storm.”

Travelers should check with their airlines for current flight information, the jetport said.

The Maine Principals’ Association announced that all games scheduled for Saturday in the basketball tournament have been postponed until next week. Two hockey playoff games have also been postponed.

In Portland, a city-wide parking ban will be in place from 10 p.m. through 6 a.m. both Friday and Saturday nights.

“This means residents can park their cars in the designated snow ban lots and garages and leave them there until Sunday morning,” the city said in a statement. “The city does not want residents to have to move their cars Saturday morning during the height of the storm.

“This will allow public works crews to be more efficient with keeping streets clear.”

Vehicles left on city streets after 10 p.m. during the parking ban may be towed at the owner’s expense, although some parts of downtown have later tow times to accommodate downtown parking for dining, concerts and other activities.

More information on the parking ban and a list of parking options available during the ban, along with a map of the downtown streets that have later tow times, is available on the city’s website.

Central Maine Power is monitoring the weather forecast as the storm moves into the area.

“To prepare, we are pre-staging additional line and vegetation management crews in our service territories beginning Friday evening,” said CMP spokesperson Jon Breed in a statement.

“During weather events like these, it is not uncommon to see power outages caused by vehicle accidents involving our electric poles. We urge all Mainers to use caution if driving on Saturday.”

Customers can report outages and track restoration times using the CMP mobile app. Customers may also enroll in outage alerts and find storm preparation tips on CMP’s website.

Saturday’s storm could add significantly to snowfall totals for the season if it plays out as expected.

Portland has seen 42.5 inches of snow so far this winter, which is slightly below the 45 inches that normally has fallen by this time of year, Baron said.

The storm is expected to clear by early evening Saturday, after which the weather will be clear with high temperatures around 40 degrees during the day Sunday.

“If anything there will be some run-of-the-mill snow showers here and there, but there are no major storms expected over the next week,” Baron said.