A few inches of snow had fallen Friday afternoon, but Waterville plowing contractor Terry Pressey wasn’t moving it yet. He was shopping for an all-wheel-drive car for his wife.
Pressey already has worked a lot this week. It took 24 hours of work to clear the 40 driveways that he plows after a Tuesday storm that dropped upward of 20 inches of snow in many parts of Maine.
On Friday, he was waiting for forecasts to find the best time to hit his driveways once, since he has handed his customers some expensive bills lately.
“I bought a plow to make money,” Pressey said, “but I want to make it reasonable for the customer.”
Schools and businesses were closed across the region from Richmond to Augusta to Kingfield on Friday, many of them for the third day this week, as the National Weather Service placed much of Maine, including Kennebec, Franklin and Somerset counties, under a winter storm warning from Friday through Saturday morning.
Margaret Curtis, a meteorologist with the weather service in Gray, said on Friday afternoon that the Augusta and Waterville areas could get up to 10 inches of snow by the storm’s end Saturday morning, with light snow adding to the accumulation.
A wind chill advisory was issued for central Somerset and northern Franklin counties, including Bingham, Jackman, Rangeley and Kingfield, where temperatures may be below zero by Saturday morning, with wind gusts of up to 40 mph making it feel as cold as 29 degrees below zero.
In Kennebec County, temperatures are predicted to stay in the teens through Saturday morning.
Minor accidents and slide-offs were being reported across the area Friday afternoon and evening, but no major injuries were reported.
At 2:20 p.m., two cars collided in a head-on sideswipe crash on U.S. Route 202 in Winthrop near the Horseshoe Road intersection. At least one person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, said Sgt. Daniel Cook of the town’s Police Department.
In Waterville on Friday evening, police were covering “a pile of accidents and slide-offs,” said dispatcher Joel Waye. There was a crash near College Avenue and Vigue Street in which a victim complained of shoulder pain.
Lesley Jones, Augusta’s public works director, said all 14 city plows were on the roads Friday afternoon after 3 inches of snow had fallen. She said the snow was wetter than it was in the Tuesday blizzard, making streets “slippery if you’re not paying attention.” Rural roads, said Deputy Chief Ryan Reardon, of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, are “still suffering” from the Tuesday storm.
“As long as people go slow and take their time, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Reardon said.
Fairfield contractor Bill Smith plows 10 driveways, mostly in Winslow, and he said they’re close to each other.
While many Mainers may be tired of the snow by now, Smith said it gives him a chance to bank some money somewhat quickly.
“I think it’s great,” he said. “Bring it on.”
Staff Writer Amy Calder contributed to this report.
Michael Shepherd — 370-7652
Twitter: @mikeshepherdme
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