Good morning Maine! Just so you know:
Good morning and welcome to the Sunrise Herald with Giselle Goodman. This is the first place you should go to know about:
THE WEATHER
At 9 a.m., it was 15 degrees in downtown Portland, with a wind chill of zero.
Wind chill is too generous. It should be called wind freeze today. It is wicked out there, blowing easily at 20 mph with 40 mph gusts. The snow, meanwhile, has moved on, but in its place is the wind, which should be blowing all day.
Highs expected in the 20s, but you won't know it. Sun comes out, but you won't feel it. Keep as little skin exposed as possible, and keep the tots bundled when they go sledding. Skin can get frostbitten within minutes in these temps.
Here's a look at how the snow is affecting the state:
• SCHOOL CLOSINGS, DELAYS AND PARKING BANS
Most schools at 9 a.m. were reporting delays rather than closures. And if your town has a street, there is more than likely a parking ban.
The full list is available by clicking this www.MaineToday.com link.
Some highlights include:
• Berwick Academy: 1-hour delay
• Bath schools: 1-hour delay
• Bath Regional Technology Center: 1-hour delay
• Boothbay Region Elementary School: 2-hour delay
• Boothbay Region High School: 2-hour delay.
• Portland Yoga Studio: No Monday morning classes.
• Southern Maine Community College: Opening at noon, no morning classes.
• Westbrook Senior Citizens: Monday morning meeting and luncheon canceled.
• TRANSPORTATION
First things first. A big thank you to Jeff Monroe, Portland's transportation director, for calling me back with the following information after I woke him up at 6 a.m. after a long day. Sorry Jeff.
Anyway:
• THE PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL JETPORT — Our little airport was hit pretty hard by the storm with most flights ending up on the canceled list yesterday. As of this morning, arriving flights seem to be coming in on time, although there are some departure cancellations. Of note:
• A DELTA FLIGHT inbound from CINCINNATI, due in Portland a little after midnight, had to be diverted to the airport in Manchester due to runway conditions. Monroe said the flight was due in just after runway crews, who were working all day, came off a break and could not get the runways satisfactory in time. That flight comes in to Portland today.
• These are the reported INCOMING delays thus far this morning: A 10 a.m. flight from LaGuardia airport now expected at 10:40 a.m. / A 11:07 flight coming from New York city, now due at 11:54 a.m.
These are the reported OUTGOING delays thus far this morning: An 8 a.m. flight to Philadelphia canceled / An 11:35 flight to Richmond now scheduled for 12:15 p.m. / An 11:35 flight to New York's JFK now scheduled for 12:15 p.m.
You can see more by visiting the TRANSPORTME website. Click on the "arrivals/departures" prompt.
• THE MAINE TURNPIKE — Turnpike officials lifted the 45 mph speed restriction at 7:25 a.m. The road is clear ALTHOUGH there is a lot of salt on the road. Don't go out there without windshield juice.
JUST HOW MUCH?
Here are some snow totals as reported by the National Weather Service in Gray, in case you didn't get to measure yours:
• Acton: 9 inches
• Auburn: 7 inches
• Westbrook: 8 inches
• Kennebunk: 8 inches.
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THE NEWS FROM:
• YARMOUTH — Fire crews had to venture out into the blustery weather to fight a barn fire at 44 East Elm St. just before midnight.
The barn was burning when firefighters from Yarmouth, Freeport, Cumberland and North Yarmouth arrived at the scene. The fire did spread to the house, say officials, which was evacuated. But it was quickly doused and the house was saved.
There were no injuries reported, although the barn is a loss. Four hours later, everything was under control and firefighters were able to clear out. Officials are still searching for a cause.
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Posted
at 09:03 AM
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