Much of Maine found itself digging out Thursday. Again.
A winter storm that blew into Maine on Wednesday delivered another foot of snow to some areas that were still buried under nearly 2 feet of snow from Monday’s snowstorm. The heavy snow downed tree limbs and power lines overnight, knocking out electricity to tens of thousands of homes.
More than 54,000 Central Maine Power Co. customers lost electricity at least once during the storm, with the peak occurring Thursday afternoon, according to CMP spokesman John Carroll.
Carroll said repair crews would continue to work overnight to restore power.
As of 9 p.m. Thursday, just over 4,400 customers – most in Cumberland and York counties – were still without power.
That number had declined from nearly 10,400 Central Maine Power Co. customers who were without power at 5:10 p.m., including 1,509 outages in Gorham, 3,197 in Windham and 1,779 in Buxton.
Several York County fire departments posted messages on Facebook early Thursday warning of downed limbs and power lines. In Buxton, the fire rescue crews were checking reports of fallen trees, and downed wires.
“Trees and limbs are breaking under the weight of the snow. The wires that we’ve seen taken down tonight have been quickly buried in the snow making them almost impossible to see,” the Waterboro Fire Department posted on Facebook. “If you power is out, make sure your wires are still up before venturing out to clean up this lovely mess.”
The storm brought heavy rain to Portland and coastal communities before changing to snow Wednesday night, and buried inland areas under a foot or more of wet, heavy snow.
Eastport had recorded 69 inches of snow in a 10-day period, and Andover, in western Maine, had 79 inches, the second-highest level recorded in the state over that time.
Meteorologist Margaret Curtis of the National Weather Service said Portland had received 36.2 inches of snow this month, making it the city’s 10th-snowiest February with two weeks remaining, according to the Associated Press.
In southern Maine, the heaviest snowfall was in York County, where the National Weather Service reported 18 inches in Sanford, nearly 17 inches in Limington, and 16.6 inches in Cornish. Inland towns such as Fryeburg and Bethel got 16 inches and 14.5 inches respectively. Sebago reported 16.5 inches and Bridgton 16.3 inches.
Coastal areas saw far less snow: Scarborough got 4.7 inches of snow once the rain had changed over. Portland reported 5 inches of snow at the jetport, Yarmouth got 4.5 inches and Brunswick, 4 inches.
Mainers navigated slippery roads during the morning commute before the snow ended about noon.
The speed limit was reduced to 45 mph for the entire length of the Maine Turnpike. The Maine Turnpike Authority reported multiple accidents and cars off the road Wednesday night. Tractor-trailers crashed early Thursday in Gray and Kittery but were cleared before 7 a.m.
The snow led to a number of school cancellations and delays Thursday. Many communities declared parking bans during the storm. Portland declared an overnight parking ban Wednesday 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Thursday.
Jessica Grondin, the city’s spokeswoman, said the city declared the Wednesday ban because many streets – especially those in the West End and East End neighborhoods – were still too narrow because of plowed snow from previous storms.
With the large amount of snow that has fallen this week, public safety officials are worried about roofs collapsing. Roby Fecteau, director of the city of Biddeford’s emergency management office, urged homeowners to remove excess snow. He recommends that property owners use a roof rake or hire a contractor.
“It is never recommended to remove snow by standing on the roof itself,” Fecteau said in a news release. He recommends getting a written estimate and checking references before hiring a contractor.
The Biddeford Fire Department ordered the Kohl’s Department store on Route 111 to close Thursday afternoon after an inspection determined that ceilings were beginning to sag under the weight of the snow on the roof.
“The roof structure was compromised,” Capt. John Pothier said.
Pothier said about 20 employees and two dozen customers were evacuated around 1:30 p.m. He said the store will not be allowed to reopen until engineers figure out a way to reinforce the structure. There is about three feet of snow on the roof.
John Jensenius, a weather service meteorologist, said temperatures will continue to climb throughout the weekend. By Sunday, temperatures could reach the mid-40s at the coast and upper 30s inland, he said.
“It should melt everything that’s on the road,” he said.
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