LEWISTON — A spring storm Monday morning coated central Maine roads with several inches of snow, leading to accidents around the region.

In Auburn, police handled 25 accidents between 6:45 and 9:15 a.m. In Lewiston, police dealt with 11 crashes between 6 and 11 a.m. There were no serious injuries in either city.

“It seems like this is a little more slick,” Lewiston Lt. Adam Higgins said. “Just the way it came down so fast and hard, it seems like it was a little more slick than normal.”

Lewiston Public Works opted to salt — but not sand — most roads because the department had already started sweeping around the city in mid-March.

“We certainly didn’t want to have to repeat that process,” said Jon Elie, highway operations manager for Lewiston Public Works.

He said salt provided some traction while melting the accumulating snow.

Lewiston also started plowing at 7:45 a.m. — too late for some school bus drivers and commuters, who complained about the state of the roads on social media.

But Elie said there was too little snow on the road before then.

“I drove in from Leeds and I didn’t think the roads were that bad,” Elie said. “Typically we go out when there’s 1½, 2 inches of snow. That’s during a regular winter storm. This time, there was less than that and we were on the road. Plus the conditions of the snow, the traction wasn’t that bad.”

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office was called to about a dozen accidents Monday morning, many of them involving vehicles that had slid off the road.

“What was happening was the snow was hitting the ground and cars were going over it,” said Chief Deputy William Gagne. “It was like packing and freezing over, so it was a sheet of ice. Highway was doing what they could, but it was difficult. I think people are so used to driving with it being right down to the tar. We were re-learning how to drive again.”

One of those accidents involved a man who lost control of his car going down a hill on McGuire Hill Road in Poland. The car slid off the road and hit a utility pole, snapping it in half.

The driver was not injured.

Area residents were without power for part of Monday because of that crash and one on nearby Johnson Hill Road.

The National Weather Service said Lewiston received 4½ inches of snow Monday. The snow stopped by early afternoon.

ltice@sunjournal.com

Elsewhere in New England, they’re underwhelmed

BOSTON (AP) — Steady snowfall made for a sloppy Monday morning commute across much of New England, yet many residents were relieved that the spring storm wasn’t nearly as bad as first forecast.

After initial forecasts last week of up to a foot or more of snow in some areas, the National Weather Service downgraded its predicted precipitation and much of eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and northeast Connecticut ended up with about 6 inches. Coastal areas of New Hampshire and Maine got a little more, around 8 inches.

By noon, the snow had stopped and the sun was out in much of the region.

Plymouth nurse Kathy McKee was pleasantly surprised when the storm didn’t dump as much snow as predicted. When she left her home, only 3 to 4 inches of snow had fallen, compared to some forecasts that had predicted as much as 10 inches.

“I’m relieved now and back looking forward to spring again,” she said.

Greg Crawford, manager of a rental car company in Buzzards Bay, was unimpressed. He took a shot at forecasters who overestimated the storm’s impact.

“I think their ratings are down compared to last year, so they needed something,” he said.

In Stratham, New Hampshire, about 8.5 inches fell, according to preliminary National Weather Service numbers.

In Massachusetts, Oakham got 7.5 inches of snow while Boston got less than 3.

In Connecticut, Tolland got 6.5 inches, while in Rhode Island, Burrillville led the state with 6 inches.

Monhegan island in Maine got 8 inches, while Portland got 6.7 inches.

New York got much less. A little more than 3 inches had accumulated in Nassau County. New Jersey and Pennsylvania had slight accumulation on cars and grassy surfaces.

Schools across New England either closed for the day or delayed opening by two hours.

Police in New England reported several morning accidents, likely caused by slick roads.

Power outages were minimal, but dozens of flights in and out of Logan International Airport in Boston were canceled.

Kathy Fernandez was unfazed.

“It’s New England. No big deal,” said the Providence, Rhode Island, resident, briskly walking to work as flurries fell. “It’s just a little flurry. For the amount of snow we’ve had this year, I can’t complain.”

The snow is expected to quickly melt as temperatures rise into the 50s by midweek.

Copy the Story Link