POLAND — Mike Thibault’s mother gave him an old Honda generator last year that she had used just once during the ice storm of 1998. 

Thibault and his wife, Amy, sure appreciate that gift now. Since the start of the snowstorm Thursday, they have been without power at their home on Empire Road. 

With a 21-year-old son and a foster child living at the home, it’s been kind of rough. 

Enter Mom’s Honda generator and things are looking a little bit brighter. 

“We’re able to have a little bit of power and heat some water,” Amy said Friday afternoon.  

If they need to, they can use the generator to power their microwave oven, as long as they’re careful about unplugging other devices. 

For the Thibaults, it’s a matter of getting creative and eating a lot of sandwiches while waiting for electrical service to be restored. 

There was a lot of that kind of thing going on Friday. 

APRIL STORM BY THE NUMBERS 

As Mainers dug out after a sloppy midweek storm, they had a whole bunch of numbers over which to ruminate. 

There were lingering power outages, for one thing. As of early evening Friday, roughly 195,000 homes and businesses were still in the dark as local and out-of-state crews struggled to make repairs. 

Cumberland County was the hardest hit, with 55,000 still without power. In Androscoggin County, 20,000 were still waiting for their service to be restored, while 21,000 were still without power in Oxford County.

And then there was the snow — heavy, sodden and hard to move. Like everything else with this storm, snowfall totals seemed to be all over the place. 

According to the National Weather Service, parts of Androscoggin County got 20 inches while other areas recorded as few as 10. 

The final tally Friday showed the town of Poland with 20 inches, while Livermore Falls recorded the lower amount. In other parts of the county, Lewiston was reported to have received 16 inches, while 14 inches were recorded in Auburn, Turner and Durham. 

In Oxford County, the big winner seemed to be Porter at the southern end on the New Hampshire border where 21 inches fell between Wednesday night and Friday morning. Roughly 15 inches were reported in other parts of the county, while the town of Andover saw fewer than 10 inches. 

Franklin County was a mixed bag, too, with Temple reporting just under 14 inches while Rangeley recorded a mere 8 inches. 

The snow was one thing. It could be plowed, hurled with a snowblower or shoveled, although the latter was an exercise in back ache. 

The power outages were another thing, and with so many people still without electricity, some were getting creative to keep their homes warm and their food from going bad. 

A few people reported storing items from their refrigerators in the snow outside, which was effective as long as the temperature remained low enough. 

Others were resorting to generators, portable heaters or even solar power systems to get by. A couple in Sabattus was using a camp stove to heat milk for their baby. 

At Lost Valley Ski Area in Auburn, crews were using a generator to keep food refrigerated and their sump pumps working. 

BETTER THINGS TO COME 

With so many people scrambling without power, CMP planned a big surge to get lines repaired. 

“Overnight, our crews continued their work, and we have now restored power to more than 100,000 customers. With improving weather conditions today, more and more areas are being assessed for significant damage, cleared of trees and repairs to poles and wires are being made,” the company said in a statement Friday morning. 

CMP said crews will work around the clock until power has been restored to all customers. 

With that in mind, hundreds of extra line and tree crews headed to Maine to help with restoration efforts.  

 

The destructive spring storm, which arrived Wednesday night and wound down Friday morning, brought high winds and heavy snow that snapped tree limbs and power lines all over the state. At the peak of the power outages, 350,000 CMP customers were without electricity. 

In Poland, Amy and Mike Thibault were told their power should be restored sometime Friday night. It was a matter of waiting for that moment when the lights pop back on and all those appliances are ready to roll again. 

“What I would give,” Amy said, “to just cook dinner on the stove.” 

This week’s storm struck less than two weeks after a powerful snow and ice storm knocked out power to 200,000 CMP customers, some of whom waited days for power to be restored. 

It hasn’t been a very comfortable slide into spring, but the forecasters say better things are to come — there are even reports that the skies will be clear for the historic eclipse at the start of next week. 

“The rumors are true,” according to the National Weather Service in Gray. “It is currently looking to be sunny on Monday.” 

Temperatures are supposed to be in the 40s over the weekend, which will help to melt the newly fallen snow. On Monday, eclipse day, forecasters say the temps could flirt with 60. 

As weather numbers go, that’s a good one.

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Photo Album: Power restoration continues after the brutal nor’easter leaves Maine