LEWISTON — Tire stores, grocery stores and cancellation lines were
buzzing Tuesday as the first major snowstorm of the season was
predicted to begin in time for the Wednesday-morning commute.

The National Weather Service forecast Tuesday night called for between 7 and 13 inches in Lewiston-Auburn.

Channel 13 meteorologist Sarah Long predicted the area would get between 7 and 10 inches, “the highest on the map
right now.”

Travel will be toughest during
the late morning and mid-day, when the snowfall will grow heavy, Long said. The
snow will mix with rain or sleet later in the day, but
there will be less rain and sleet away from the coast.

The storm should end by the evening commute, but winds will gust to
30 mph, strong
enough to take down some branches, Long said. “It’ll make it pretty
uncomfortable to be outside.”

The third part of the storm will be a blast of “the
coldest air we’ve had of the season,” Long said. She predicted single-digit temperatures for Thursday.

“So as soon as you can, before the sun comes up Thursday, clean up
from the storm,” Long said. “If you wait until you get home from work Thursday night,
it’ll freeze.” The winds
will subside by the weekend, but the cold will remain, she said.

Maine State
Police Chief Col. Patrick Fleming on Tuesday cautioned drivers to slow down during the storm.

“Snow and ice reduce a driver’s vision and ability to stop,” he said.
Each vehicle
should be equipped with a blanket, a shovel, a flashlight and a fully
charged cell phone. Drivers ought to ensure their vehicles have proper
tires and windshield wipers, and that the heater, defroster, lighting and
battery are in good working order, Fleming said.

Two kinds of snow days

At the VIP tire store on Lisbon Street in Lewiston on Tuesday, customers came
in for snow tires, snow brushes and storm wipers. Service Manager Scott
Gabriel said he expected more people would be in Wednesday. “Some people wait to
see how bad it will be before they come in.”

Debra Boilard of Monmouth was having snow tires put on her daughter’s car, which had summer tires. “They didn’t do well in the storm the other day,”
Boilard said. “I got worried. I have a grandson she drives around. I’m
giving her four studded snow tires as a Christmas present.”

VIP will have a snow day Wednesday but not the kind schoolchildren enjoy.

Company
policy says every employee has to show up at work, even those who work
at the main office. The office workers will go to VIP stores to help at
the counter or in bays, including company President John Quirk. “He can
sling tires as fast as anybody,” Gabriel said.

Auburn School Superintendent Tom Morrill could not predict Tuesday whether school would be canceled.

If the storm starts at 8 or 9 a.m. and is supposed to pile up to 10
inches by the end of the school day, “obviously that’s a significant
challenge,” meaning no school.

Superintendent Dennis Duquette of the Poland-Minot-Mechanic Falls school unit said classes likely would be held Wednesday. He said the forecast says
the worst part of the storm will be late in the morning when students would
already be at school.

“It’s a crap shoot,” Duquette said. “Sometimes
I’m a hero, sometimes I’m not. When you have a snow day, the kids love
you.”

Duquette and other superintendents will get up at 4 a.m. and check
with road crews and the latest forecasts before making the 5:15 a.m.
call.

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Jeff Bennett, foreground, puts all-season tires on rims as Assistant Manager Ian Theriault studs tires at the Lisbon Street VIP on Tuesday afternoon.