A powerful late-March nor’easter brought heavy, wet snow and damaging winds to western Maine this week, downing trees and power lines across the region and leaving more than 45,000 customers without electricity at the peak of the storm.
The storm, which moved through Monday night into Tuesday, dropped 14 to 22 inches of heavy snow across the foothills and western mountains, with the highest totals reported in the Rangeley, Bethel, and Rumford areas. Coastal areas received a mix of rain and snow, with Portland receiving about 4 inches of slushy accumulation.
“This was a classic spring nor’easter — heavy, wet snow that sticks to trees and brings down branches and power lines,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Hawley. “It’s the kind of storm that causes more damage than a mid-winter blizzard because the trees are just starting to bud.”
Central Maine Power reported the heaviest concentration of outages in Oxford, Franklin, and Somerset counties, where crews worked through the night to restore service. Some remote communities in the western mountains remained without power for more than 48 hours.
“Our crews and mutual aid partners have been working around the clock,” said CMP spokesperson Catharine Hartnett. “The combination of heavy snow and wind created a significant number of hazards that take time to address safely.”
Several communities activated warming shelters for residents without heat. The Bethel Area Community Shelter housed approximately 30 people Tuesday night, providing cots, warm meals, and charging stations for phones and medical devices.
Road conditions were treacherous during and immediately after the storm. The Maine Department of Transportation deployed plows across western Maine but cautioned that some secondary roads would take time to clear. Several accidents were reported on Route 2 and Route 4 in the Farmington area.
“Spring storms catch people off guard because they’re already thinking about warm weather,” said Oxford County Emergency Management director Paris Dunn. “We remind people to keep their emergency supplies stocked through April.”
Temperatures are expected to rise into the 50s by the weekend, rapidly melting the snow and raising concerns about localized flooding along streams and rivers in the affected areas. The National Weather Service has issued flood watches for several western Maine watersheds.
