LEWISTON – Sweethearts may relax. No matter how much the snow accumulates today – falling in a storm forecast to be the severest in two years – the valentine roses and carnations will get through.

“It’s snow, not molten lava, ” said Mike Blais, owner of Blais Flowers and Garden Center in Lewiston. “We’ve seen this before.”

Before the end of today’s special day, Blais expects a crew of 10 drivers will make at least 427 flower deliveries, in spite of expected blizzardlike winds.

“We’ve taken second addresses from people,” Blais said, just in case the deliveries are marked for a school or business that might close. “We’re ready.”

It will likely be a lot of snow.

A forecaster with the National Weather Service in Gray described the low-pressure system as “a big, bad storm.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if your area got a foot-and-a-half of snow,” said Art Lester, a meteorological technician with the Gray office. “It’s the same low that caused all the trouble in Louisiana.”

The storm is expected to hit around daybreak today, and intensify, eventually dropping 8 to 14 inches along the coast and more inland, Lester said. In the interior of Oxford and Franklin counties, those totals could likely hit 20 to 30 inches.

“It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had a storm like this,” Lester said Tuesday afternoon.

By Tuesday afternoon, worry about snow prompted the Maine Legislature to postpone its work for today.

Meanwhile, drivers for the Maine Turnpike Authority were preparing 80 trucks for the 109-mile artery through the state, according to spokesman Dan Paradee.

Some were already rolling. At noon, a few trucks began spreading a salty solution on the highway, insulating the pavement from the first snowflakes.

In Auburn, workers from the Public Works Department were tentatively planning to hit the road around midnight.

However, people would be on duty – watching the satellite images and the skies – in case the snow came earlier than expected, said Bob Belz, Auburn’s Public Works director.

“When they see the first flake, they’ll start calling people in,” Belz said.

Drivers planned to begin plowing 18 Auburn routes, beginning sometime around midnight.

Across Auburn, an emergency parking ban was scheduled to take effect at 3 p.m. today and continue until 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Meanwhile, restaurants in both cities expect a crush of couples celebrating the holiday.

At both the Village Inn and Mac’s Grill in Auburn, there had been no cancellations due to the storm.

They were likely, though, said Jeff Cloutier, dining manager at Mac’s. As more people learned of the storm, some would likely change their plans.

At Mac’s sister restaurant, Fish Bones in Lewiston, a few people canceled their reservations, but their places were quickly scooped up by more valentine diners.

“We’re full,” Fish Bones General Manager Dave Bugel said. “We’ve been full for a week.”

Yet, even in blizzard conditions, there will be chances for people to pick up a last-minute valentine gift, said Mike Small, owner and operator of Roak the Florist in Lewiston.

After all, the people who buy flowers are men, procrastinating boyfriends and husbands.

“We’re talking guys,” he said. “Most don’t order a week in advance. They come in the day before or they come in the same day.”

He planned to make at least 500 deliveries during the holiday, selling each one of the 3,000 roses in his greenhouses.

“They’ll be gone by Wednesday night,” he said. “We’ve done this before. We’ve woken up and had 12 inches to face.”