Snow impacted driving Monday in much of Maine. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

A two-part weather system that arrived early Monday and dumped snow on most of Maine is expected to continue through Tuesday evening.

Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Gray described the winter storm as “complex,” and said nearly the entire state will see precipitation by the time it is over.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning from 1 p.m. Monday through 7 p.m. Tuesday, adding that heavy snow is expected Tuesday throughout central and western Maine, with snow accumulations estimated between 4 and 10 inches.

Meterologist Derek Schroeter said Oxford County could see “upwards of 12 to 15 inches total” by the end of the storm.

Part one of the storm began late Sunday, with York County bearing the brunt of it. Portland and Saco, for example, saw significant snow accumulations Monday morning.

The second part of the storm arrived Monday night, dumping more than 6 inches of snow on Lewiston and Auburn and 4½ inches on Lisbon.

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While there were no major crashes in Lewiston or Auburn, there were enough minor accidents and cars sliding off the road to keep officers busy all day.

Sgt. Jason Croft of the Auburn Police Department said officers responded to “upwards of a dozen crashes” throughout Monday, with a handful of them being cars sliding off the road.

“We only had one crash that resulted in minor injuries,” Croft said.

The Lewiston Police Department dealt with several minor car accidents throughout Monday morning and afternoon, including a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Ash and Jefferson streets that resulted in minor injuries.

According to a firefighter with the Leeds Fire Department, a woman was not injured early Monday after she rolled her vehicle at the intersection of Quaker Ridge Road and Route 106.

Several towns issued parking bans, including Lewiston, Auburn and Lisbon.

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Lewiston’s parking ban will remain in place from 12:01 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Auburn Deputy Chief Tim Cougle said that a parking ban has been issued in Auburn from 8 p.m. Monday to 6 p.m. Tuesday, with the Downtown Parking District remaining exempt from the ban from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday.

In Lisbon, the parking ban is in effect and will remain until 5 a.m. Wednesday.

As travel conditions deteriorated, Gov. Janet Mills announced all state offices would close at 3 p.m.

“With the winter weather worsening and causing slick roads and dangerous driving conditions, I am closing state offices early today to ensure that all state employees are able to get home safely,” Mills said in a statement

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

Portland Press Herald staff writer Gillian Graham contributed to this article.


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