Friday’s rain and temperatures in the 40s are causing flooding concerns along some of Maine’s rivers.

With these mild temperatures and rain, there could be problems due to ice jams.

This happens frequently in Maine when milder temperatures move in during the winter.

Maine Emergency Management says they are concerned about flooding Friday.

They’re reminding drivers if roads become flooded, remember the saying “turn around don’t drown” so your car doesn’t get trapped in any flood waters.

“If people do experience flooding at their home in their basement, we want them to use extreme caution. Don’t just walk down into the water without first turning off your electricity. That could be extremely dangerous. If it’s happening during the ongoing rain, you may want to wait to get the water out once the rain subsides,” Susan Faloon, public information officer, MEMA, said.

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Flooding isn’t just a concern near rivers but really everywhere with a lot of snow melting and rain in the way we could see some minor flooding, especially if any storm drains are still clogged or covered with snow.

Most of the area will receive 0.5″ to 1.00″ of rain on Friday.

Rain will continue and vary in intensity Friday night. All rain should be expected Friday night through early Saturday morning and may lead to some flooding concerns in areas where drains are covered by snow.

The freezing rain/sleet line will arrive in the mountains first after midnight.

Rainfall totals should fall in the 1.0″ to 2.0″ range therefore flooding threat will need to be monitored on the roads.

Most of southern Maine and New Hampshire will wake up to rain and temperatures above freezing early Saturday morning.

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Colder air will slowly invade during the course of the morning hours changing from rain over to freezing rain, sleet, and then likely a period of snow to end.

The transition should occur in that order arriving for most of the area between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m.

The good news is a prolonged period of freezing rain leading to significant icing is not expected.

The wintry mix will also not be a long duration event.

New data suggests a more progressive system with the back edge pushing east early to midafternoon.

Very light accumulations of ice, sleet, and snow are expected in southern and central Maine.

Snow and sleet accumulations may approach a half foot near the Canadian border.

Saturday night is expected to be partly cloudy to mostly clear. It will turn colder and breezy with early morning temps on Sunday falling into the single digits.

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