A blizzard that will bring Maine’s heaviest snowfall in several years arrived in the Portland area Saturday morning.
Light snow began falling by 7 a.m. but will pick up in intensity, turning into a blizzard as the day progresses. The Portland area is right in the line of fire, the National Weather Service warns.
“We’re expecting 12 to 18 inches across southern Maine, a little less in the Fryeburg, the amounts start to tail off toward the western mountains,” meteorologist Michael Clair in the National Weather Service’s Gray station said Saturday.
Parking bans are in place through Sunday in Portland and other municipalities, and all flights have been canceled at the Portland Jetport. Even in-person school has been called off for Monday out of concern crews will need time to clear sidewalks.
For the Portland area and all along the coast, 18 inches could fall,” even up to Lewiston and Augusta,” Clair said. “Pretty much the closer you get to the coast, the higher amounts we’re expecting. Combine that with the coast is expected to get the strongest winds, that’s why we have blizzard warnings up. The Portland area is smack dab in the middle of some of the worst of it.”
The National Weather Service and Central Maine Power Co. cautioned residents to be prepared for power outages with strong wind expected of up to 50 miles per hour.
Conditions will steadily deteriorate through Saturday morning, Clair said.
Holly Smevog of Cape Elizabeth gets groceries early Saturday morning at the start of a predicted nor’easter, at Hannaford’s in South Portland. She says she’s a procrastinator. Michele McDonald/Staff Photographer
“Most of the afternoon and into the early evening we’re expecting the worse, some of the heaviest snow, one to two inches an hour at times,” Clair said. Falling snow with strong winds will create hazardous driving with whiteout conditions. Residents are advised to stay off the roads.
“By this afternoon conditions will be pretty bad,” Clair said. “The best thing to do is stay home.”
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for the coast of Maine, saying 12 to 18 inches of snow are expected and winds could gust as high as 55 mph. South central and southwestern Maine are likely to get the most snow and strongest winds.
Early morning motorists make their way along Route 35 in Lyman as snow starts to fall shortly after 7 AM Saturday morning. Carl D. Walsh/Staff Photographer
The blizzard warning is the first issued for the Portland area since 2018. To be categorized as a blizzard, a storm must have three or more hours of wind gusts over 35 mph and visibility of less than a quarter-mile.
Total snowfall for the winter so far is dramatically below normal. Portland has only seen 18.6 inches of snow, more than 15 inches below normal. “But we’ll be chipping away at that today,” Clair said.
Central Maine Power Co. will have 200 of its own line workers, 320 contractors and 124 tree crews positioned to deal with power outages that may hit. CMP is also bringing in utility crews from New York, spokesperson Catharine Hartnett said, and positioning workers around the state in areas expected to bear the brunt of the storm.
She said crews will be available because the New York utilities owned by CMP’s parent company, Avangrid, aren’t expected to be hit hard by the storm.
Harnett said the forecasted fluffy snow normally doesn’t cause a lot of problems for CMP. But she said the strong winds could bring trees down on power lines.
All Saturday flights in and out of Portland International Jetport were canceled. Service at the airport is expected to resume by midmorning Sunday.
The Amtrak Downeaster reduced service on Saturday and Sunday because of storm impacts across New England. On Saturday, trains 696, 697, 698 and 699 are canceled. Train 690 on Sunday is canceled, but all other trains are expected to be running that day.
Portland Public Schools will hold remote classes Monday because sidewalks and side streets could be difficult for pedestrians and buses to navigate following the weekend storm.
In Wells, a section of Webhannet Drive will be closed Saturday in anticipation of coastal damage.
In South Portland, the Winterfest event scheduled for Saturday was canceled, and the community center and pool are closed.
This story will be updated throughout the day.
Staff writers Gillian Graham and Edward D. Murphy contributed to this report.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.