The remnants of Hurricane Noel was more drizzle than dazzle as windy, wet weather doused Maine.

Minor accidents and flooding were reported locally, as steady rain and blustery winds picked up, then moderated, through Saturday evening.

“It was pretty windy, then it died down again,” said Auburn police Lt. Tim Cougle at around 9 p.m. “I think we might have dodged a bullet.”

A two-car accident on the Maine Turnpike near Auburn’s Exit 75 blocked south-bound traffic for about 20 minutes, but was then cleared by state police around 9:30 p.m.

Central Maine power was putting extra crews on stand-by, anticipating damage from heavy winds and rain. As of 8 p.m. there were about 2,200 reported outages, mostly on the coast. Locally, about 115 outages were reported in the Lewiston service area, primarily in Minot.

As of 9 p.m., no no extreme winds from the Lewiston-Auburn area had been reported to the National Weather Service in Gray. But meteorologist Bob Marine said the storm was picking up intensity, especially along the coast.

“We just got a call from Cape Elizabeth, where a gust hit 60 (mph),” said Marine, adding he expected more reports throughout the night and into the early morning.

The storm was expected to bring L-A winds averaging between 25 and 35 miles per hour, with gusts to 50. Winds were expected to be milder in Western Maine, between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts up to 30, according to the weather service. As of 9 p.m., the storm had dumped about an inch of rain in the L-A area.

A high-wind warning was in effect until 5 a.m. today throughout the state.

In Maine, the state ferries suspended service as a precaution, said Lynette Miller of the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

A coastal flood warning was lifted after high tide passed Saturday evening, said Marine.

“And with winds from the north, the threat has passed,” he said.

Sunday’s local forecast calls for sunshine, wind and temperatures in the 50s, with cooler temps toward the west.Other parts of New England bore the brunt of Noel’s fury.

The worst was expected on Cape Cod, where winds were predicted to reach 90 mph.

High-wind warnings were in effect for coastal Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey and the eastern tip of New York’s Long Island.

Sustained winds were expected to reach 40 to 50 mph along the New England coast, potentially up to 70 mph on the coast of Maine.

A 70-mph gust had been reported on Nantucket by late afternoon, and about 25,000 people had lost power in scattered areas around Cape Cod and the South Shore, according to Peter Judge of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

Although the center of the storm was expected to pass about 175 miles east of the eastern tip of Long Island, wind affected that area Saturday morning, with the Long Island Power Authority reporting more than 300 customers blacked out.

Up to 2 inches of rain were possible on eastern Long Island, with wind gusting to 70 mph, the weather service said.

Noel had been blamed for at least 48 deaths in Haiti and 82 in the Dominican Republic, and thousands were homeless because of catastrophic flooding. One death was linked to the storm in the Bahamas, along with one in Jamaica. Extensive damage was reported in Cuba.