Mainers likely witnessed one or more forms of precipitation on Monday as a storm bringing rain, ice, sleet and some snow swept across the state.

The storm arrived early Monday morning, spurring closures and late openings, dozens of car crashes and the lowering of highway speed limits.

“Mother Nature’s pretty much thrown everything but the kitchen sink at us,” said James Sinko, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Caribou office, on Monday afternoon.

The bulk of the precipitation came early. Southern coastal areas started with freezing rain, but this changed to rain once temperatures rose to above freezing.

“We’ve observed a little bit of everything,” said Stephen Baron, a meteorologist at the weather services’ Gray office.

Baron said the Portland area and south had recorded less than a half-inch of freezing rain, and between a half-inch and an inch of rain by Monday afternoon.

By 3 p.m., Baron said, “the back edge” of the system was already moving out of New Hampshire and into Maine, meaning precipitation in the south would likely cease by the evening commute.

While most of northern Maine received freezing rain, some northwestern areas and other mountainous regions got some snow early. Sugarloaf reported about 2 inches of snowfall before the switch to freezing rain.

Some of that freezing rain was beginning to turn to “plain rain” by afternoon, Sinko said, and he predicted precipitation would persist well into the evening up north.

As freezing rain gave way to more rain, Sinko said, road conditions were likely to remain slick — especially along the Route 9 and Route 6 corridors — and he urged drivers to use caution.

The Maine Turnpike Authority lowered speed limits the length of the turnpike on Monday morning, but speed limits were back to normal south of Exit 53 in Falmouth by 9:30 a.m. and to the remainder by noon.

Maine State Police had responded to about two dozen crashes by 2:30 p.m. Monday, according to department spokesperson Shannon Moss. Some minor injuries were reported, Moss said.

Several local police and fire departments reported multiple crashes. Kennebunk Fire & Rescue said the department responded to several, including one involving a utility pole, and Raymond police also reported crashes. The Newburgh fire department alerted drivers to an oil truck rollover, resulting in road closures, on social media.

Central Maine Power Co. outages peaked at 3,800 customers around 7:15 a.m. By 6 p.m., the utility had restored power to 12,500 customers throughout the day, a spokesperson said, and less than 200 customers were still without electricity.

Versant Power peaked at about 2,400 customers without power around 11 a.m. That number dipped to single digits Monday afternoon, but about 500 were without power as of 6 p.m.

Some municipal offices announced delayed openings Monday, including Auburn, Sanford, Scarborough and Denmark. Further north, some municipal offices, such as in Millinocket, were closed all day. Bangor instituted a parking ban starting Monday night.

The University of Maine was closed Monday, and winter sessions were canceled. Pleasant Mountain ski area in Bridgton delayed opening until 10:15 a.m. Monday, and stated it would forgo night skiing and close at 3:30 p.m. to maintain snowpack.

Temperatures were expected to drop below freezing across the state beginning early Tuesday, and could reach as low as 10 degrees up north, Sinko said. While this could be the last rain of the year, Maine stands the chance of seeing one more snowfall in 2025.

“New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day, we expect light snow along the Downeast corridor, 2 to 4 inches,” Sinko said. Further east, totals could end up closer to 5 inches.

Southern Maine may also see some snow showers as part of that system on Wednesday night, Baron said, but whether it would “amount to something” was still unclear Monday afternoon.