Residents of the Augusta and Waterville areas can expect a wet warmup after snow, then sleet and freezing rain caused accidents Wednesday across the region.
Heavy rain was forecast for Wednesday night into Thursday, when the temperature was expected to climb above freezing and into the upper 40s.
A winter weather advisory was due to expire at midnight, then temperature would start increasing, meteorologist Tom Hawley, at the National Weather Service office in Gray, said Wednesday afternoon.
“By 8 a.m. or so in the morning, we’re probably looking at temperatures well into the 40s — 47 in Augusta and 49 in Waterville,” he said.
Wednesday morning, Augusta public works crews were dispatched to Cony Street to treat the roads, and numerous minor accidents were reported. At one point, dispatch reports indicated there was a backed-up demand for tow trucks.
Dispatchers from the Waterville and Somerset County communication centers reported a number of minor accidents and slide-offs Wednesday morning.
A section of China Road near Veteran Drive in Winslow was closed temporarily while crews dealt with a crash, according to the Winslow Police Department’s Facebook page.
Slippery road conditions in Farmington were believed to be the cause of a single-vehicle rollover Wednesday morning on Industry Road. The vehicle’s sole occupant was not injured, according to Farmington police. The vehicle had to be towed back onto the road.
Accidents in New Vineyard, Industry and Chesterville also were reported Wednesday morning. A call to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office regarding the accidents was not immediately returned.
School was canceled in Augusta and Waterville, and other closings and delays were reported.
The next chance of snow is expected in the form of snow showers late in the weekend, and rain showers on Monday, possibly followed by light snow on Tuesday.
“Right now most indications are we’ll remain on the warm side of these storms as they go to the west,” Hawley said, adding that the weather pattern is atypical for this time of year.
“This is kind of a strange weather pattern, maybe somewhat related to El Nino,” he said. “Normally we would see much more snow on the ground this time of the year.”
So far this month, Hawley said, the temperature has been two to three degrees above normal in Augusta.
Records show the normal high temperature for this time of year in Augusta is 34 degrees; the normal low is 17.
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