Maine grappled with strong winds Thursday as a wall of severe west-to-east thunderstorms downed trees and utility lines, closed some roads and left several thousand Mainers without power for several hours.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch in the early afternoon for five Maine counties as a strong low-pressure system generated dangerous winds and thunderstorms. The weather service also issued a severe thunderstorm warning for four counties, as well as parts of New Hampshire.
Central Maine Power had documented over 9,000 outages at the peak of the storm, but by 9:15 p.m., that number had fallen to about 1,700. Versant Power logged a few thousand outages, but most were located in Bangor and caused by unrelated wind gusts earlier in the day.
The weather service began tracking a line of severe storms late Thursday afternoon moving east at 45 mph, stretching from north of Fryeburg through New Hampshire. Forecasters warned that those storms carried 60 mph wind gusts, enough to damage roofs, siding and trees.
The dangerous line of storms traveled through Lewiston, Auburn, Biddeford, Westbrook, Saco and Brunswick. The warning also covered Interstate 95 between mile markers 58 and 82, as well as popular recreation spots like Sebago Lake, Long Lake and Pleasant Mountain.
Forecasters had advised anyone in the path of these storms to seek shelter in an interior room on the lowest floor of a building for protection.
The tornado watch was canceled around 7:30 p.m.
A tornado watch does not mean tornadoes are imminent — it just means the conditions are right for them to possibly form. However, the weather service noted that tornadoes can develop quickly and urged residents to remain alert.
The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center had forecast a 2% chance that tornadoes would form in Oxford and York counties or western Cumberland County. The broader tornado watch also included Androscoggin and Franklin counties.
Derek Schroeter, who works at the weather service’s office in Gray, said Thursday morning that the weather system that eventually brought the storms was “rapidly evolving.”
No rain totals were available Thursday evening.
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