At least 4,400 customers of Central Maine Power Co. were without electricity Wednesday morning as rainstorms pummeled the state.

The storms brought heavy downpours and wind as they moved through the area early Wednesday.

Although more than 1,100 lost power locally in the early morning hours, by 4:15 p.m. CMP reported 340 outages in Kennebec County. Of those, there were 322 in Augusta, 14 in Windsor and four in Winthrop.

Meteorologist Tom Hawley, of the National Weather Service in Gray, said wind gusts early Wednesday probably contributed to power outages, but the wind should be dying down throughout the day. The strongest wind gusts recorded Wednesday were 37 mph at 5:19 a.m. in Portland, but within two hours wind gusts were down to 22 mph, he said.

Hawley said rain showers would continue off and on throughout the day and would be heavy at times.

He said more rain is expected Thursday, describing it as “possibly heavy rain at times.”

Comments are no longer available on this story