Staff and wire reports

The season’s first major snowstorm came loudly and at a fast pace, with 4 inches falling within an hour at one point and lightning and thunder cracking in the sky.

By nightfall, it was over. But most areas reported at least 4 inches had fallen and a half-foot or more covered the ground elsewhere.

Police around the southern and western sections of the state reported many car crashes and vehicles sliding off the road. But many of them also pointed out that most drivers proceeded with care when they had to be on the road. The result was fewer accidents than expected.

“It’s always a challenge during the commute when it’s the first significant snowstorm of the year,” said Lewiston police Sgt. David St. Pierre. “But it really hasn’t been too bad.”

In Lewiston, only six crashes were reported by the time the snow ended. There were an even dozen in Auburn.

Kirk Apffel of the National Weather Service said it’s rare even in Maine to see reports of 4 inches of snow coming down in a single hour.

“A lot of this snow has come down in a short period. In this case, it’s impossible for road crews to keep up,” Apffel said.

The snow began shortly after daybreak in extreme southern sections and quickly spread across the state during the day. The heaviest snowfall was expected between the lunch hour and the evening commute.

Police were busy responding to reports of minor accidents involving vehicle rollovers or vehicles skidding off the road as many motorists got their first taste of winter driving this season. The speed limit on the Maine Turnpike and Interstate 295 was lowered to 45 mph.

State employees were treated to an abbreviated work day. All state offices, except those in Aroostook County, were closed at 2:30 p.m.

School kids also got a break. All classes in the Twin Cities were canceled for the day. Schools in Dixfield and Peru sent students home at 11:30 a.m. Schools in Rumford and Mexico did the same by noon, but SAD 44 students in Andover, Bethel and Woodstock were not released until the school day ended.

“We did not see the need to release them,” said Superintendent David Murphy late Friday afternoon. “We made the determination that they’d be better off in school than out on the road while the plows were out. And, as it turned out, just as we went to dismiss the kids, the snow stopped,” he said.

But, a Telstar High School girls basketball game at home with Boothbay was postponed from Friday to today. The junior varsity plays at 4 p.m.; varsity at 5:30 p.m.

Dispatchers in Franklin County reported police handled more than a dozen accidents in the region during the storm as of 3:15 p.m. Friday.

There were three accidents in Farmington, county deputies handled four and though he hadn’t a chance to call state police, Franklin County dispatcher Bill Hoyt said he knew of three of four in his they covered.

No one was seriously hurt, he said.

There were also several in Jay, but none was considered major.

In Kennebec County, a sheriff’s dispatcher said numerous crashes occurred, a few of them serious. However, no life-threatening injuries were reported.

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