MILO, Maine — Flooding caused by heavy rain was blamed for a man’s death on Sunday and for damage to several roads and buildings in northern Maine, while forecasters predicted more rain throughout northern New England in the days ahead.

In Milo, flooding of the Pleasant River due to Saturday night’s heavy rain washed out three major culverts and caused closures on some local roads, interim Town Manager Roger Raymond said.

Police Chief Damien Pickel said flood waters ripped a 20-foot-wide, 5-foot-deep gash into a local highway, resulting in the death of a motorist early Sunday. Pickel said Charles Bromley IV, who lived in Milo, drove into the opening and died of trauma from the crash.

Storms sweeping across northern New England on Saturday night through Sunday’s early hours left 8 inches of rain in the Patten area, 5 to 7 inches in Brownville, 4.4 inches in Houlton, 3.7 inches in Danforth and 1 inch in Bangor, said Joe Hewitt, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Caribou, which warned of continued localized flooding in portions of Penobscot, Piscataquis and Aroostook counties as rain fell in those areas Sunday.

In the Patten area, several roads and some bridges were washed out, Hewitt said.

“There were power outages due to that, and telephone poles brought down,” he added.

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Flooded roads left Brownville isolated temporarily Saturday night, but town officials were making repairs Sunday, said Pickel, in neighboring Milo. The water also shifted some buildings from their foundations, he said.

Farther south, where the weather turned pleasant Sunday, several areas were hit with heavy downpours the previous night, notably the Action-Newfield area, which received 5 to 6 inches of rain.

In New Hampshire, powerful wind accompanying the storm on Saturday afternoon knocked down tree branches and snapped power lines in the Keene area. Power was restored Sunday to nearly all of the 2,000 customers who lost electric service.

While rain continued off and on in northern Maine, the nice weather farther south was to be short-lived, forecasters said.

Heavy rain possibly amounting to 1 to 3 inches is expected to resume Monday and Tuesday in Maine and New Hampshire as a low pressure system settles over the region, said the National Weather Service in Gray. In Vermont, the forecast wasn’t so wet, with less than an inch predicted for the early work week.


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