enlarge Jack Milton/Staff Photographer

Photos by Jack Milton/Staff PhotographerA taxi splashes through a flooded area on Commercial St. Many storm drains in Portland had to be cleared several times Wednesday.

enlarge Robert Bukaty/The Associated Press

Robert F. Bukaty/The Associated PressIcicles hang from a street sign in Lewiston. Freezing rain fell in many areas, downing tree limbs and causing outages. uFEFF

enlarge Doug Jones/Staff Photographer

Doug Jones/Staff PhotgrapherPedestrians find the going tough in downtown Portland on Wednesday. Many sidewalks were impassable, forcing many people to walk in city streets.uFEFF

enlarge John Ewing/Staff Photographer

John Ewing/Staff PhotographerCars are awash on Commercial Street in Portland on Wednesday afternoon. Snow clogged many storm drains, leaving water with nowhere to go once the rain started.

enlarge John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

John Patriquin/Staff PhotographerRebecca Greenfield shovels her driveway on Pitt Street in Portland before the rain began.

enlarge John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

John Patriquin/Staff PhotographerTraffic is light on River Road in Windham as Bob Preston clears his driveway once again Wednesday morning. The Portland area has had 23 measurable snowfalls this winter.uFEFF

enlarge Staff photo by John Patriquin

Traffic on ice-covered Route 25 in Gorham was delayed Thursday morning after a collision between two cars.

SOME CHILLING NUMBERS 32 – Number of times state DOT crews have cleared roads so far this winter 27 – Number of times state crews cleared roads through the end of last March 74,000 – Number of homes and businesses without power late Wednesday 6,000-plus – Number of storm drains in Portland 4– Number of three-person crews responsible for clearing them

A day-long winter shot of snow, sleet and rain downed tree limbs, flooded roads and caused almost 74,000 power outages across southern and central Maine Wednesday.

The mix – heavy, wet snow followed by sleet and then steady rain – produced thick slush that clogged street drains, flooding many urban intersections.

It weighed down tree limbs, some of which broke, crashed onto power lines and caused electricity outages that kept power company crews busy well into this morning.

"It's certainly one of the messier ones we've had in a long time," Lynette Miller, spokeswoman for the state's Emergency Management Agency, said of the storm.

Gov. John Baldacci declared a state of emergency as the number of power outages rose late in the day.

That declaration allowed Central Maine Power Co. to call in teams from out of state to help restore power, Miller said.

Public safety officials and weather forecasters warned of another tough commute to work this morning. They said overnight temperatures were expected to dip into the mid-20s and leave an icy glaze on roads.

The storm moved into the state late Tuesday night and dropped between 8 and 10 inches of snow in parts of Androscoggin, Cumberland and York counties by late morning. Snow changed to sleet around noon and to rain by mid- afternoon.

Tree limbs, weighed down by snow and sleet, broke and damaged power lines.

By 4:15 p.m., about 16,500 homes and businesses throughout the state were without power. That number swelled to nearly 74,000 by 10 p.m., with most of the outages in Androscoggin, Kennebec and Cumberland counties.

Fed-up Mainers checked into hotels and raided convenience stores as they faced the possibility of long waits to get their electricity back.

"People were coming in for gasoline, for electric generators, and batteries for flashlights," said David Berryman, a cashier at the Big Apple gas station and cstore in Cumberland.

The front desk phone at the Ramada Inn in Lewiston started ringing around 4 p.m. – right after the hotel got its power back. Residents wanted to know if rooms were available, after the number of homes and businesses in the area without electricity rose to more than 22,000.

"We've been slammed on the phone," said the manager, Eric Nelson. "We've filled 15 rooms with people who came in because they didn't have power at home."

Chunks of slushy snow set adrift by steady rain clogged street drains and left busy city intersections under several inches of water in the afternoon.

Portland's public works department had four crews of three people who spent all day clearing street drains, said John Emerson, the city's wastewater facilities coordinator.

The numbers weren't on their side. Emerson said the city has more than 6,000 catch basins, and many had to be cleared several times. "We're barely keeping our heads above water," he said.

The storm caused widespread power outages for the first time since thunderstorms and high winds knocked out electricity to more than 11,000 in June. The number of homes and businesses without power as of late Wednesday was the most since a nor'easter socked southern Maine and caused about 100,000 outages in April.

The damage compounded headaches from a busy winter storm season that has strained municipal budgets.

The weather has also strained social service agencies.

"Our day shelter is packed full and people aren't leaving," said Mark Swann, executive director of Preble Street in Portland. "People aren't going outside, people aren't traveling to appointments, people aren't leaving the premises."

Swann said his agency's daytime shelter at the corner of Portland and Preble streets typically hosts about 200 guests. This year, it is averaging about 300.

The first rough winter in years came as heating oil prices...