AUGUSTA (AP) – Maine’s tight supplies of propane aren’t getting any help from the weather, which has once again delayed the arrival of another tanker with supplies for the region, the governor’s office said Thursday.

A tanker carrying 12 million gallons of propane that was due to arrive Thursday in Providence, R.I., was slowed by bad weather. The tanker is now due Saturday, said David Farmer, spokesman for Gov. John Baldacci.

A few rail cars carrying propane have arrived in Maine, but a strike against the Canadian National railroad continues to cause disruptions. Maine has been hardest hit in New England because it gets 60 to 70 percent of its propane via rail.

“Every day is touch and go,” Farmer said.

The shortage came to a head last week with the combination of a disruption of rail cars and the delay of a tanker arriving in Portsmouth, N.H.

Propane, liquefied petroleum gas, ranks behind heating oil and natural gas for heating homes in New England, but tens of thousands of homeowners use it for everything from heating homes to running cook stoves and clothes driers.

In Maine, more than 25,000 homes, or roughly 5 percent, use propane as their primary source of heat.

So far, no one was being forced to go without. But propane dealers have been partially refilling tanks instead of topping them off to stretch tight supplies.

Until the rail strike ends, supplies will continue to be tight despite the anticipated arrival of more tankers in New England ports.

“It’s a day-by-day analysis depending on what rail comes in, what ships might or might not be in the harbor,” said Jamie Py of the Maine Oil Dealers Association.

While the situation is being closely monitored, the Maine Emergency Management Agency has begun making contingencies in the event the problems escalate to the point tanks begin running dry, said spokeswoman Lynette Miller.