By DOUG HARLOW
Staff Writer
 
Thunder rolled down the Kennebec River in Skowhegan at noontime today followed by lightning and a sudden downpour of heavy rain.
It was Sandy, now classified as a post-tropical cyclone, sticking around for another day in central Maine, about 600 miles from the point the storm made landfall last night with devastating effects.
The National Weather Service in Gray issued a special weather statement at noon, warning of thunder storms in Franklin, Kennebec, Somerset, Lincoln and Knox counties.
Doppler radar indicated a line of strong thunder storms extending from six miles east of Farmington to five miles south of Oakland to 14 miles east of Augusta moving north at 60 mph.
Flood warnings and watches remain in effect today in the entire region.
Gutters were plugged in Skowhegan and standing water was reported on U.S. Route 2.
Central Maine Power Co. spokesman John Carroll said 64,400 homes and businesses remain without power as of noon, primarily in the state’s southern and coastal areas. Although restoration work has been slowed by occasional thunder storms and bursts of heavy rain, the company reports that the number outages is less than half of the 147,000 created by the storm.
CMP expects to restore most service to several northern counties by sometime this evening.
Once work is completed in those areas, CMP will begin moving additional workers into the southern and coastal regions. The company has also increased its field workforce to nearly 1,200 with additional line workers, tree crews, and support personnel.

 


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