Oxford Hills towns were still feeling the effects of a nor’easter that began Sunday morning and left some areas covered in more than a foot of snow by Monday afternoon.
According to the National Weather Service in Gray, Paris and Sumner received 16 inches of snow. Hebron and Otisfield were not far behind at 14.5 and 12 inches, respectively.
Even before the state decided to close its offices Monday, School Administrative District 17, Regional School Unit 10 and The Boxberry School in Harrison announced Sunday that they would be closed.
The Western Maine University and Community College Center in Paris also canceled classes Monday, and Greenwood and Norway town offices announced Sunday that they would be closed Monday.
A majority of businesses in downtown Norway shut their doors Monday as a result of the storm, including Norway Savings Bank, Cafe Nomad, Books N Things, Fare-Share Co-Op and the Progress Center.
Norway instituted a parking ban from Sunday until noon Tuesday. The town added on its Facebook page that the hours could be extended, if necessary.
Officials with the Norway Police Department said that as of 11 a.m., the snow was still falling at a decent rate.
At 3 p.m., Paris Highway Director James Hutchinson said snow was still falling and roads had “plenty of snow on them.”
“It’ll be sometime tomorrow before we get the roads somewhat back to normal,” he said. “It’s still snowing up here, and with the wind blowing around, the snow is drifting around and making it tough to clear.”
Despite the severity and consistency of the snowfall Sunday and Monday, a minimal number of power outages were reported.
At 8 a.m., Central Maine Power had 26 reports of power outages in Oxford County, with most of them centered on Albany and Milton townships. By noon, 15 residents were reporting power outages.
However, shortly after 3 p.m., 52 residents in Lovell reported power outages.
While a hindrance to many, the storm was a boon for ski areas in Oxford County, including Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry.
Darcy Lambert, director of communications for Sunday River Ski Resort, said the mountain got 23 inches of snow over 24 hours.
mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net
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