Southern and coastal Maine is expected to get between 5 and 8 inches of snow from a fast-moving storm that weather forecasters predicted would move into the state Sunday night before accelerating into Canada’s Maritime Provinces on Monday morning.

“It moves in and out pretty quickly, about a 12-hour event,” Chris Kimble, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, said Sunday evening.

Despite the storm’s brief stay in Maine, the weather service issued a winter storm warning Sunday afternoon that was to take effect at 8 p.m. and remain in effect through noon Monday. A winter storm warning means snowfall could be heavy at times, creating dangerous driving conditions.

Kimble said the 6 inches of snow that is expected to fall in Portland will likely make for a challenging morning commute. The snow is expected to end by midmorning, with temperatures climbing into the 30-degree range by Monday afternoon.

While some recent storms have dumped heavy, wet snow on roads, driveways and sidewalks, Kimble is predicting that the snow texture from this storm will be “fluffier than normal.”

The threat of another snowstorm prompted several cities and towns to issue overnight parking bans Sunday night, including Auburn, Biddeford, Brunswick, Falmouth, Freeport, Kennebunkport, Lewiston, Old Orchard Beach, Saco, Sanford, Topsham, Yarmouth and York.

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The city of Portland’s parking ban hotline said there would be no parking ban in effect Sunday night into Monday morning.

The South Portland Community Center announced the storm will delay its opening by two hours Monday, moving the center’s opening time from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. The Maine Legislature issued a statement Sunday afternoon announcing that its committee meetings will be delayed until noon Monday.

Kimble said the forecast for the rest of the week in Portland calls for sunny skies and a high temperature of 30 degrees Tuesday. It will get colder as the week progresses, with daytime highs dipping into the low to mid-20s.

Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com


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