WATERVILLE — Residents throughout central Maine awoke Sunday morning to a white coating of heavy, slushy snow mixed with autumn leaves.
The unseasonably early snowstorm brought down many tree limbs and power lines across the area, killing power to homes and some city traffic lights. Area police reported no major traffic accidents resulting from the storm.
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Central Maine Power Co. reported a peak of 145,000 customers without power Sunday morning, mostly in southern and western Maine. That number had been reduced to 130,000 by the afternoon. CMP reported nearly 16,000 in Kennebec County without power by noon on Sunday, as well as 3,200 in Somerset County, 2,400 in Franklin County and 1,400 in Waldo County.
The Waterville area received about 4 inches of snow, according to Chris Legro, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray. He said 7 inches was reported in Pittsfield and 8 inches in Farmington.
The state’s heaviest snow fell in York and Oxford counties, as a slow-moving band hovered near the New Hampshire line and dumped more than a foot of snow in some areas, Legro said.
In Winslow about 9 a.m., a vehicle went sliding in slush on Cushman Road and struck a utility pole, according to police. The driver suffered a minor head injury.
In Waterville, traffic lights on Spring Street and Elm and Western Avenue were without power from the wee hours of Sunday morning to about 3 p.m., according to Sgt. Joseph Shepherd of the Waterville Police Department.
“We had some difficulties because of power outages and the power lights out,” Shepherd said, “and we just had several downed-wire calls throughout the day — I’d say eight to 10 cases. Tree limbs knocked them out.”
In Madison, the heavy, wet snow wreaked havoc on Ken Peters, owner of Madison Mattress & Furniture. A 40-foot-by-60-foot tent he had set up in his driveway off White Schoolhouse Road was covering bedroom furniture he’s been selling as part of his large retirement sale. The snow load proved too much for the tent. Peters discovered that the snow weight had torn a large hole on one end of the tent, collapsing the back of it.
“I thought because the tent was so large the snow would slide off from it, but it was wet and heavy,” Peters said. “It was certainly a surprise storm, to get something that bad in October. It’s frustrating, because we had just started in the final days of the retirement sale and we were hoping to get more out of it. Now the tent will have to come down, and I haven’t gone inside yet to see the damage, because it’s not real safe.”
With the snowstorm arriving a day before Halloween, CMP officials advised trick-or-treaters to be cautious on the streets.
“Many streets will still be darker than normal, and there may be damaged utility equipment on the ground or hanging below normal heights,” CMP spokesman John Carroll said. “Our crews have been reminded to use extra caution as they work in the streets. We also hope parents and drivers will take special care to stay clear of our crews and keep youngsters safe.”
Forecasts predicted today to be mostly sunny in the Waterville area, with a high near 45 degrees and a calm southwesterly wind of about 5 mph.
Scott Monroe — 861-9239
smonroe@centralmaine.com
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