LEWISTON – A mixed bag of wintry weather late Wednesday sent cars sliding off roads just about everywhere in the Tri-County area and more than a few people were startled to see significant snowfall.
While most areas saw intervals of sleet and driving rain, there was steady snow in the mountains and in central parts of the state. By 9 p.m., nearly 2 inches of snow had fallen in the mountains and foothills, according to the National Weather Service in Gray.
In Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties, police scrambled from scene to scene as vehicles slid off roads, into utility poles or into each other. Those were mostly minor wrecks and mishaps, according to dispatchers at each county’s sheriff’s department.
However, in Hebron, a three-vehicle pile up with injuries was reported shortly after 7 p.m. It was not immediately clear how serious the injuries were. An Oxford County sheriff’s dispatcher said that accident also appeared to be related to the weather.
In Androscoggin County, a sheriff’s dispatcher described police and emergency crews as “right out straight” as sleet caused roads to freeze over and vehicles slid out of control. In this county, the biggest problems were in Minot and Greene, the dispatcher said.
In Franklin County, a dispatcher said there were numerous reports of ice-related wrecks, and almost all of them were single vehicles slipping off roadways.
Maine State Police said there were reports of similar crashes across the south and western parts of the states, mostly on back roads. The Maine Turnpike, a dispatcher said, was free of ice and of any serious wrecks.
In Lewiston and Auburn, roads were wet but not slick. There were no reported crashes or cars off the road by 9 p.m. as a result of the weather. In Auburn, Lt. Scott Watkins said it was a reasonably quiet night in that city although nearby towns reported icy roads and significant snowfall.
The good news – for police and emergency crews, at least – is that the passing storm responsible for the precipitation was expected to be brief. National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Marine said it was a band of snow and sleet that moved across the southwestern portion of the state.
In fact, Marine said the storm system was already on its way out late Wednesday night as a different front was moving in. Today, he said, should be mostly sunny and mild.
“It’s setting up to be a pretty nice day,” Marine said.
No records were set by the sleet and snow. Marine said there is really nothing unusual about wet, icy weather this time of year.
“It is November,” he said. “I think we’ve been spoiled.”
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