By Mark LaFlamme

and Terry Karkos,Staff Writers

LEWISTON – The hassle for some people during Tuesday’s snowstorm was determining what was open and what was not.

School classes were canceled and some town and city governments adjusted their hours to allow for a messy morning commute while state workers were told to stay home altogether.

Meanwhile, scattered businesses were closed across the Twin Cities as proprietors feared the worst. Some left notes on their doors to alert customers; others called clients to cancel appointments. Otherwise, it was business as usual as cleanup crews spent the afternoon scooping snow from the streets.

“People who didn’t have to be out in it stayed at home,” said Moe Bolduc of the Auburn Police Department. “That makes a big difference.”

By 5:30 p.m., there were no reports of serious wrecks across Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties, officials said.

The snow began falling about 1:30 a.m. in the Lewiston area. The storm was still grinding across the state by 4 p.m. Then, at about supper time, the clouds parted and patches of blue were visible in the sky above Lewiston.

Weather officials said the areas around Lewiston, Auburn and Gray saw about 10 inches of snow by midafternoon. The worst of the storm seemed to fall during the morning commute, which resulted in a smattering of crashes and a few cars off the road.

“It was nothing extraordinary for these types of conditions,” Lewiston police Sgt. David St. Pierre said Tuesday afternoon.

“The roads are pretty well cleared at this point. But public works crews still need time to get out there and widen them,” he said.

To that end, Lewiston police were extending their parking ban on city streets until 7 p.m. After announcing a parking ban on Monday, St. Pierre said a lot of people failed to get their cars and trucks of the roads, and the result was a busy night for tow trucks.

“Several cars had to be towed in preparation for the storm,” the sergeant said. “Obviously, we’re seeking the compliance of citizens so crews can continue to plow the streets.”

Officials at Central Maine Power Co. announced Tuesday afternoon that there were few reported outages as a result of the storm.

CMP crews had been preparing for the worst since Monday, when more snow and high winds were in the forecast.

According to the National Weather Service in Gray, winter storm warnings were to remain in effect for the mountains of Maine and New Hampshire until 6 p.m. Tuesday. Snow showers were forecast to linger in the mountains through the remainder of the week.

Copy the Story Link