Some roads were temporarily closed but no major damage was reported Tuesday as storms brought several inches of heavy rainfall to some areas amid localized flash flood warnings from the National Weather Service.
A flash flood warning was issued around 10 a.m. Tuesday for an area including communities across Somerset, Franklin, Kennebec, Androscoggin, Cumberland and York counties. The heaviest rain was expected to move out of the area by late Tuesday evening, the weather service said. The flash flood warning is an upgrade from a flood watch issued Monday afternoon for parts of Franklin, Oxford and Somerset counties.
Michael Smith, director of the Somerset County Emergency Management Agency, said Tuesday that the stormy weather had already dumped about 2 to 3 inches of rain on Somerset County and an additional 1 to 3 inches of rainfall was possible by the end of the day.
By 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, the weather service had received reports of 3.18 inches of rainfall in Embden and 2.89 inches in Mercer.
The communities most at risk of flash floods are in southern Somerset County. Skowhegan, Madison and Fairfield are the towns meteorologists specifically issued the flood warning in, Smith noted.
Smith said the only issues caused by the storm as of Tuesday afternoon had been a couple of trees that fell, including one in Jackman and another in Starks.
“Fortunately there hasn’t been anything we’ve had to respond to yet,” Smith said around noontime on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the weather service on Tuesday afternoon reported flash-flooding in the Augusta, Gardiner and Winthrop areas, as well as the Interstate 95 and I-295 corridors.
John Brenenstuhl, emergency management director for Kennebec County, said no major issues were reported.
Jerry Combs, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, said rainfall totals across Kennebec County showed that the heaviest rainfall fell north and west of Interstate 95 through midafternoon.
At the Augusta Airport, 2.84 inches of rainfall was recorded through 2 p.m., Combs said, with most of that coming after 8 a.m.
Unofficial reports from private weather stations show that anywhere from 2 inches to 4 inches of rain fell across Kennebec County, with the higher totals, some exceeding 4 inches, falling just east of Mount Vernon in the Belgrade area, Combs said.
In Winthrop, where 3 inches to 4 inches of rain fell, Winthrop town officials closed South Road, where water was flowing across the roadway at a low point.
In Sidney, there were reports of water flowing over Middle Road near the intersection of Dinsmore Road.
While the rainfall was slowing Tuesday afternoon, Combs said rain would continue into the evening with an additional 1-2 inches expected.
“Once we get closer to the evening, conditions should improve and the flooding threat should wind down,” Combs said.
Wednesday was expected to be drier and breezy, with temperatures in the 70s, he said. More rain showers are expected again on Thursday, with drier conditions on Friday and Saturday, and showers expected again on Sunday.
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