KITTERY, Maine (AP) — State Police say freezing rain has iced over highways in southern Maine, causing dozens of cars and trucks to slide off highways and roads.

A state police dispatcher reported 20 to 30 vehicles off the Maine Turnpike on a 20-mile stretch between Wells and Kittery in York County. Turnpike officials say the speed limit on the southern portion of the highway has been lowered to 45 miles per hour.

Troopers say light rain and freezing rain have made it slippery.

Motorists are being warned to use caution.

According to the National Weather Service’s area forecast discussion for the region Wednesday a low pressure system was moving northeast from the Ohio River Valley  as a warm front was also pushing into northern New England bringing warmer temperatures and a forecast of rain and freezing rain.

Light snow was falling in the Lewiston-Auburn area Wednesday morning but more coastal regions including Bath-Brunswick were seeing rain and freezing rain.

Cold air was expected to give way to more moderate temperatures for most of south-central Maine except in the western foothills and mountains where colder temperatures had forecasters issuing a winter weather advisory. Areas at higher elevations in Franklin and Oxford county would likely see snow and sleet, according to the forecast.

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