Hundreds of thousands of Mainers were without power for much of Thursday as a nor’easter brought heavy snow and strong winds to the region, with some power outages expected to last into next week.

The storm, which started its path through New England Wednesday evening and is expected to continue passing through Maine into Friday, prompted officials to close state and municipal offices and schools and warn people to stay home if possible. Snow fell at rates of 1 to 2 inches an hour Thursday morning, creating dangerous travel conditions.

“The damage from these fallen trees is significant and our arborists have observed that this is some of the worst snow loading on trees they have seen in more than a decade,” said Jon Breed, spokesperson for Central Maine Power. “Hundreds of additional line and tree crews are en route to Maine to support the more than 450 external line crews and 250 tree crews already deployed in the field. We are also coordinating the use of cranes to remove large hazard trees in some areas.”

Old Orchard Beach, Scarborough, Brunswick and Augusta were among the cities and towns that opened warming centers Thursday. South Portland planned to open its community center Friday. Gov. Janet Mills delayed the opening of state offices until 11 a.m. Friday.

“As crews continue to clear the roads, I urge Maine people to drive safely during the Friday morning commute,” Mills said in a prepared statement. “Plan for extra time, drive with caution, and clear your car off completely. Be sure to move over for plow trucks, utility crews, and first responders working to keep us safe – it’s the law.”

A winter storm warning was in effect until 8 p.m. Thursday for all of Maine, the National Weather Service said. The warning said 1 to 2 feet of heavy snow and sleet and wind gusts up to 50 mph would create hazardous travel conditions across the region.

Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said troopers responded to 70 crashes and slide offs on Interstate 95 between 7 p.m. Wednesday and 4 p.m. Thursday. Only five resulted in injuries, she said, and none were life-threatening.

“For the most part, given it’s a weekday, it appears many drivers have heeded the warnings of public safety officials to stay off the roads,” Moss said.

@portlandpressheraldHundreds of thousands of Mainers are without power Thursday as a nor’easter brings heavy snow and strong winds to the region, also causing internet outages and serious travel delays in some areas. Read more at pressherald.com♬ original sound – Portland Press Herald

The weather service reported more than a foot of snow in many locations by Thursday afternoon, including 14.9 inches at its office in Gray. Inland towns and cities reported the highest numbers. Reports just before 5 p.m. included 14.5 in Lewiston, 12.3 inches in Farmingdale and 14 inches in Windham.  In Oxford County, Porter got 16.5 inches. In York County, Acton saw 18.4. The highest so far came from a trained spotter in Shapleigh, who reported 21.5 inches.

Cities and towns closer to the coast saw less snow but still decent accumulation, including 8.1 inches in Falmouth and 6 at the Portland International Jetport.

“The last time we saw numbers like this in April was in 1996,” said Stephen Baron, a weather service meteorologist in Gray.

Thursday’s storm came less than two weeks after a powerful snow and ice storm knocked out power to 200,000 CMP customers, some of whom waited days for power to be restored. Cumberland County – where a thick layer of ice blanketed tree limbs and power lines – was especially hard hit.

A pedestrian walks down Congress Street in Portland Thursday morning . Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

POWER OUTAGES

The number of power outages increased rapidly early Thursday morning, reaching nearly 350,000 customers statewide by noon, before that number gradually started to drop.

The utility restored power to nearly 35,000 customers on Thursday afternoon. But about 317,000 CMP customers, or 45%, were still in the dark around 5:30 p.m.

“Given the scale of damage we are seeing, at this time we do anticipate this to be a multiple-day restoration effort, lasting into early next week for some customers in hardest-hit areas,” CMP said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Cumberland, Androscoggin and York counties were severely affected by outages. CMP said crews are working to repair substations and transmission lines.

“This is the most effective way for us to quickly restore large groups of customers,” the statement said.

Customers will be notified of approximately when they will get their power back once an assessment of their area is conducted.

Source: Central Maine Power

Baron, from the weather service, expected wind gusts and another burst of precipitation Thursday afternoon to contribute to more outages.

“The biggest threat will be the heavy, wet snow causing power outages,” he said.

Versant Power reported nearly 16,000 customers were without power as of 2 p.m., the highest number reported all day. That number had dropped below 10,00o by 6 p.m.

“We expect a multiday restoration and for work to continue through the weekend at this time,” Versant said in a message to customers. “Our focus today will be addressing public safety concerns, like downed lines, and assessing damage to identify what repairs need to be made to the system.”

CMP pre-staged more than 450 line crews and 250 tree crews to be ready to respond to storm damage and outages, Breed, the CMP spokesperson, said on Wednesday.

The Kennebunk Light and Power District also posted a statement on Facebook saying there would be “a multiday restoration effort.”

“Office staff does not have estimates of when specific areas or locations will be restored,” the post said. “Tree crews and mutual aid line crews have been called in to assist. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to repair the damage caused by the storm.”

A portion of Route 9 between Falmouth and Cumberland was closed Thursday while crews worked to remove a downed tree spanning the snow-covered roadway. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Maine State Police urged the public not to call 911 unless there is an emergency – and not to report power outages.

A spokesperson for Spectrum said in an email Thursday that most of the outages they are seeing is because of commercial power outages across several areas.

“We do have some physical damage to our network, as a result of downed trees on our lines and fiber,” said Lara Pritchard. “We have crews actively working to restore service.”

Robbie Moscato was refilling gas canisters for his generator at The Depot in Springvale Thursday afternoon when his wife texted that the internet had gone out, too.

“It’s an official snow day,” he said.

Moscato said he lives “out in the middle of nowhere” in Lyman and the roads were a mess. On his way into town, he said, he was dodging ice-laden trees that bent far over into the road.

He was hopeful that the power would come back on soon, but with the snow still falling heavily Thursday afternoon, he wasn’t expecting many crews to be able to get out there. During the storm last month, he said, it took several days for CMP to restore electricity.

“It’s pretty nasty, pretty messy,” he said.

Richie Simmons shovels the sidewalk in front of the construction site he is working at in Portland on Thursday. Most of the work the crew is doing is inside, but he said they always start off by shoveling the temporary sidewalk. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

TRAVEL IMPACTS 

The storm caused several travel disruptions and shuttered local roadways.

Numerous trees and wires were down in Scarborough, where Sawyer Street was closed at Route 77, according to police.

In Buxton, nearly a dozen roads were closed because of storm damage. A truck crash that took down a pole closed Parker Farm Road at the intersection with Christian Row and River Road near the West Buxton Bridge, according to police.

Members of the South Portland Community Facebook page also reported that a stoplight was blown over and fell across Main Street near the Best Western.

There were similar reports of downed trees in York County, including in Ogunquit, where Beach Road at River Road was closed. Perkins Cove was closed at high tide for flooding, according to the town.

The northbound lanes of the Maine Turnpike were closed between Exit 86 in Sabattus and the West Gardiner barrier toll at mile marker 100 because of a crash, according to an alert from the Maine Turnpike Authority.

The speed limit was reduced to 45 mph for the entire length of the turnpike.

A woman snowblows a driveway along Fletcher Street in Kennebunk on Thursday. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

At the Portland International Jetport, more than a dozen arriving and departing flights were canceled early Thursday.

Concord Coach Lines canceled some service in New Hampshire and Maine. Greater Portland Metro said it plans to operate regular service, but delays and detours are likely, and service may be canceled if the storm is upgraded to a blizzard.

The Amtrak Downeaster canceled several trains Thursday, but a few trains were still scheduled to run with some expected delays due to downed trees and power lines.

CLOSURES AND CANCELLATIONS 

State offices and many municipal offices, including Portland, were closed Thursday, as were state and federal courts.

The commission investigating the Lewiston mass shooting also postponed a public hearing set for Thursday. A new date has not been announced, and the commission will still hold its next planned meeting on April 11 at the University of Maine at Augusta.

School districts across southern Maine announced Wednesday night that schools would be closed or have a remote learning day on Thursday, including Portland, South Portland, Westbrook, Gorham, Auburn, Brunswick, Biddeford and Wells.

Trash and recycling pickup in many communities was delayed until Friday or Saturday.

This story will be updated.

Staff Writer Hannah LaClaire contributed to this story.

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