AUGUSTA — A storm predicted to bring heavy rain and high winds to central Maine on Sunday night into Monday brought the rain and the threat of flooding — but no significant wind.

As of 6 a.m. Monday, 2.01 inches of rain had fallen in Augusta, while 2.0 inches had fallen in Waterville, and the rain continued to fall throughout the morning, Derek Schroeter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Gray, said.

By midmorning, rainfall totals had risen by about a half-inch in Augusta and Waterville. At 10 a.m., 3.95 inches had fallen in Hallowell, 3.9 inches in Belgrade, 3.66 inches in Oakland and 3.24 inches in Farmingdale. The rain then started to move out of the area.

“We do have a flood warning in effect for all of Androscoggin County into Kennebec County and over into Waldo County and then down through Lincoln, Knox and Sagadahoc (counties),” Schroeter said.

That included warnings for the Kennebec River as far north as Skowhegan and overland flood warnings for water on roadways and the potential for washouts.

Sean Goodwin, acting director of the Kennebec County Emergency Management Agency, said some river flooding occurred Sunday night and some small stream flooding had been reported Monday morning across the region.

In Augusta, the city closed the north end of the Front Street parking lot due to the predicted flooding, which could potentially reach the back side of buildings. If vehicles aren’t moved they can be towed at the owners’ expense.

As early as 4 a.m. Monday, the river had started to rise in Augusta, according to the U.S. Geological Survey gauge at Calumet Bridge in downtown Augusta, reaching 9.94 feet by 2 p.m. The river was forecasted to reach 14.3 feet Monday night, more than two feet over the threshold for minor flooding.

Hallowell officials closed off parking in Granite City Park and on Front Street Monday due to the threat of flooding.

In Gardiner, city officials closed Waterfront Park and announced the closure of the Arcade parking lot at 4 p.m. Because of the closure, overnight parking downtown will be allowed Monday night only.

In Somerset County, there was nothing major to report as of Monday morning.

Across the region, localized flooding and washouts posed traffic hazards.

In Jefferson on Route 215 near Egypt Road, traffic was reduced to a single lane due to flooding. In Fayette, water was over Route 17 between Baldwin Hill Road and Watson Heights. Complaints surfaced in Dresden about the condition of Middle Road, which is also Route 127, but crews were out by midday making repairs.

The threat of wind in this storm didn’t materialize as the storm shifted east.

Even so, by mid morning Monday, more than 2,500 people in Kennebec County, in Augusta, Chelsea and Pittston, were without power. In Lincoln County, power outages affecting nearly 800 in Dresden and more than 100 in Whitefield were reported in Lincoln County.

Jonathan Breed, spokesman for Central Maine Power said an ash tree from outside a transmission corridor right-of-way fell in Chelsea, breaking a pole. Initially, about 5,500 customers were affected. CMP was able to restore to about half of them within minutes, and power returned to the remaining customers by noon, he said.

Schroeter said following this storm, no major weather systems are expected. Temperatures will cool off into the 30s from Tuesday through Thursday, but will warm up to the 40s by Friday.

‘The one thing to watch for is going into (Monday) evening, temperatures will drop down to near-freezing so any standing water or damp surfaces could freeze causing some black ice,” he said.

Morning Sentinel staff writer Jake Freudberg contributed to this report. 

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