A blizzard hammering the Midwest is expected to result in some serious snowfall late Monday in interior Maine, according to the National Weather Service in Gray.

The storm will move northeast through the Great Lakes region Monday, pushing rain and snow into New England late Monday, with up to a foot of snow possible in Rangeley. A winter storm watch, with heavy snow possible, is in effect Monday evening through Tuesday evening for Androscoggin and Kennebec counties. Four to 7 inches is expected with localized amounts up to 10 inches, officials said.

A winter storm watch is also in place through Thursday in Oxford, Franklin and Somerset counties, with snowfalls of 8 to 11 inches with local amounts up to 15 inches, according to the weather service.

The coast is not expected to get any snow, but is likely to get some minor flooding Monday and Tuesday during the midday high tide, as high astronomical tides combine with surge and high seas from northeasterly winds.

Interior Maine will see blowing snow and difficult travel conditions during the Tuesday morning commute.

The storm follows a messy travel day Sunday, with most of Maine getting cold rain or sleet. Icy roads were expected late Sunday night into early Monday morning away from the coast as temperatures dip below freezing.

Cold rain is expected along the coast on Monday, with high temperatures in the upper 30s to low 40s on Monday and Tuesday.

“We are going to have significant snowfall in the mountains and inland, and mostly rain along the coast,” Derek Schroeter, a meteorologist at the weather service’s office in Gray, said Sunday. “Starting near Windham and in interior York County, we will see 4 to 6 inches of snow, out by Fryeburg and Turner 5 to 9 inches of snow, and more than a foot in the western mountains.”

November has been unusually snowy in Maine, with Portland setting a Thanksgiving Day record of 7 inches on the ground. Record low temperatures on Thanksgiving Day were set in Portland, where it was 6 degrees, compared to the previous 13-degree record in 1972, and in Augusta, where it was 4 degrees compared to the previous 9-degree record in 1978. Jackman residents woke up to a low of minus 10 degrees on Thanksgiving morning.

Staff Writer J. Craig Anderson contributed to this report.

Noel K. Gallagher can be contacted at 791-6387 or at:

ngallagher@pressherald.com

Twitter: noelinmaine

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