Potential snowfall map for Sunday evening and Monday. 

LEWISTON — Maine could get hit with a rockin’ sockin’ blizzard Monday, depending on the rate and amount of snowfall, and the wind.

We’re talking 14 to 22 inches and howling wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph, WGME 13 meteorologist Charlie Lopresti said Friday.

If that materializes — he cautioned conditions could change — Monday will be the biggest storm of the winter.

Snow will fall Saturday and later Sunday.

“It’s never going to clear out, but it will be light,” Lopresti said. Central Maine and Lewiston-Auburn could end up with between 1 to 4 inches from the two-day event.

“Sunday night is when the main event gets going,” Lopresti said. “The wind will start to pick up. I suspect we’ll get 6 inches of snow every six hours,” an inch every hour.

Heavy snow will start after dark Sunday and continue into Monday afternoon, in what Lopresti said could be an 18-hour storm.

“I think it’s going to be 14 to 22 inches for snowfall,” he said. “All the ingredients are there for a major storm. I can’t imagine we’ll escape this. The big question will be, how bad will it be?” Will it be a Nor’easter or a blizzard?

A blizzard is defined as heavy snow for three or more hours and winds of over 35 mph.

If you think this winter was easy until February, you’re right, Lopresti said. January was the fourth warmest on record for the past 76 years, according to Portland’s temperatures. In January, Portland only had 7 inches of snow.

“It’s now ramping up in February,” Lopresti said. “It reminds me of the winter of 1969. I studied it.” That year the winter was easy, with little snow and warm temperatures until February. Then Portland got hammered with 61 inches in February.

The Sunday/Monday storm bodes well for yet another snow day for students. That would make number seven for Auburn; number six for Lewiston. Then there’s February vacation, beginning Feb. 20.

Lewiston Superintendent Bill Webster on Friday wasn’t calling off school yet.

“I’ve done that before. I’ve been burned,” Webster said. Other years there’s been blizzards forecast so he called off school. “Then nothing happened,” he said.

He’ll make the call at 5 a.m. Monday, he said.

Meanwhile, everyone is talking about Monday’s storm — his administrators, teachers, students and parents.

He’s getting tweets from students lobbying for the day off. He shared a tweet from a parent on Friday: “‘Have you considered canceling the April vacation? I want my kids to have a summer.'” 

As the tired Lewiston Public Works crews finished clearing streets from Thursday’s storm that dropped 11½ inches, Public Works Director David Jones issued a statement Friday about Monday’s storm.

“We have received numerous compliments regarding the crew’s efforts during this last storm. I agree they did a great job, and thank you for the comments,” Jones said. Most of his crews were getting some rest Friday.

“We will not be able to do much about snow removal or addressing high snow banks until the storms stop,” Jones said. “Please bear with us.”

Compliments from residents really help the morale of the crew, he said, as do chocolate cake or cookies.

Jones warned that for the immediate future, snowbanks along streets are very high and going to get higher, making it tough for motorists to see at intersections.

“PLEASE watch out for pedestrians and other cars,” Jones urged. “Slow down and drive carefully.”

Staff Writer Andrew Rice contributed to this report.