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John Patriquin/Staff PhotographerA winter storm that left up to an inch of ice on the ground moved through Maine on Thursday afternoon, wreaking havoc with pedestrians and motorists who dared venture onto sidewalks and roads.
State emergency management officials, who were stationed in Augusta on Thursday night to monitor the storm, were braced for the worst.
As of press time, 2,745 customer outages had been reported by Central Maine Power Co. and those were concentrated in the Alfred and Lewiston service districts.
Officials said inland communities such as Sebago, Lewiston and Augusta were expected to get the heaviest accumulation of ice. Earlier in the day, Gov. John Baldacci signed an emergency declaration that, if necessary, relaxes federal restrictions on the number of work hours and miles traveled for power line repair crews called in from other states.
Today's forecast called for precipitation to end around noon and for temperatures to warm up. Saturday was expected to be sunny with highs in the 30s.
The storm, which brought a wintry mix of rain, sleet and ice to the state, did not catch state officials off guard – they had begun tracking the storm earlier this week.
Red Cross and county management officials said they were ready if needed.
"It is going pretty much as expected," said Rob McAleer, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency. "We are seeing the whole range of precipitation."
McAleer said that while the storm covered roads and trees with up to an inch of ice, it was nowhere near as severe as the ice storm of 1998, which left some people without power for days.
The afternoon commute was rough as the storm mixed with rain to coat roads and sidewalks with a thin crust of ice.
Employees of companies in downtown Portland had to resort to walking in the streets to avoid falling on slick brick sidewalks.
Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said public safety dispatchers in Gray and Augusta reported about two dozen vehicles off roads during the height of the evening commute.
"There were a lot of cars off the road as the slippery driving conditions seemed to catch a lot of people by surprise," McCausland said.
The Maine Turnpike lowered its speed limit to 45 mph, but it was not enough to prevent an accident from occurring in the northbound lane near mile marker 62 in Gray.
Trooper Kristopher Kennedy said three cars slid off the road, causing a fourth vehicle, operated by a female driver, to slow down. A tractor-trailer tried to swerve out of the way but struck the woman's car.
The woman, whose name was unavailable, was taken to Maine Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening. Traffic was restricted to one lane for about 30 minutes for debris removal.
"The roads are still slick," Kennedy said late Thursday as he continued patrolling the turnpike in the Gray area.
Officials warned people to be cautious during their early morning commute to work today. Roads could still be icy at daybreak, they said.
Steve Capriola, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, said the storm was expected to drop up to an inch of ice in some areas. Mountain regions were expected to receive between 8 and 12 inches of snow.
Capriola said that much ice accumulation is enough to classify the storm as an ice storm.
He said the 1998 ice storm left between 2 and 4 inches of ice on the ground and trees.
"This storm was not nearly as bad as that one," he said. "But it was just dangerous enough to create treacherous driving and walking conditions."
Several schools and businesses announced they would be closed today. Portland District Court and Cumberland County Superior Court were to be closed until at least noon, and Bridgton District Court was to be closed for the day.
A number of sports events were canceled Thursday, including several high...
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