You know the weather is bad when even the zombies won’t come out in it.

An all-day soak, blamed on Hurricane Joaquin, closed roads, brought down power lines and generally made for a miserable Hump Day.

Classes were canceled as were seasonal events, including this weekend’s Redneck Olympics Zombie Invasion hayride. With wretched weather in the forecast, organizer Harold Brooks said he will launch the event the weekend of Oct. 10, instead.

By the middle of the afternoon, Central Maine Power reported that slightly more than 3,000 customers in Androscoggin County were without power. Greene had the most, with 1,159 customers without power, officials said.

CMP reported another 3,210 customers without power in Kennebec County, while 600 in Oxford County and 400 in Franklin County were in the dark.

The bridge over the Androscoggin River between Lisbon and Durham was closed after rain washed out Route 9 next to the old bridge. The road reopened at 2:30 p.m., but only in the direction to Freeport. The rest of the bridge was reopened later in the day, according to Glen Philbrook of the Maine Department of Transportation.

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The National Weather Service said rainfall approached 7 inches by 4 p.m. in several areas. Meteorologist Chris Legrow said reports included 6.1 inches of rain near Sabbattus and 6.8 inches near Windham.

The University of Southern Maine canceled afternoon classes.

Across the region, there were random messes.

A branch crashed into a house on Laurel Street in Mechanic Falls, opening a hole in the roof. No one was hurt and the hole was patched.

In Wilton, the Fire Department closed Orchard Drive sometime before 3 p.m. Chief Sonny Dunham advised that the schools be notified so that buses and parents could seek alternative routes.

At 2:35, the Livermore Falls Fire Department put up a notice: The intersection of Clay Brook and Moose Hill roads was closed because of flooding.

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Traffic on Allen Pond Road in Greene was restricted to one lane because of flooding Wednesday morning. Parts of Portland flooded during the height of the rainstorm, but waters quickly receded. A flood watch runs through Thursday morning in some areas.

The National Weather Service, on its Facebook page, came forth with some good news at about 2 p.m. The worst, they said, was behind us.

“A few stray showers will remain possible into the evening,” the post stated, “but things will dry out overnight.”

There were no zombie invasions in the immediate forecast.


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