A Jeep splashes through a puddle on Western Avenue on Wednesday near the Augusta Armory in Augusta. Forecasters say strong winds and heavy rains will bring the possibility of flooding in central Maine. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Communities across central Maine are bracing for the possibility of flooding Wednesday, nearly a year after a storm brought widespread flooding and wind.

Across the region, school districts either canceled school or delayed the start with remote learning as icy conditions made travel hazardous early in the day and government offices announced early closures as the storm was expected to move in to the area during the late afternoon and evening hours.

The National Weather Service in Gray issued a flood watch Tuesday that remain in effect from 1 p.m. Wednesday through 7 a.m. Thursday for much of Maine, including Kennebec and Somerset counties.

In Kennebec County and parts of southern and coastal Maine, a wind advisory was upgraded Wednesday to a high wind warning in effect from 6 p.m. Wednesday through 4 a.m. Thursday, threatening the possibility of widespread power outages, according to the weather service.

Heavy rain was expected to start Wednesday afternoon, said Michael Cempa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray.

Augusta, Waterville, Farmington and Lewison are all expected to get 2-3 inches of rain through Wednesday evening, Cempa said. The rain is expected to taper off Thursday morning but will bring flash flooding conditions across the state.

Warm temperatures are expected to melt snowpack and increase river flows, before a cold air mass is expected to slow runoff Thursday, according to the weather service. That could lead to “widespread and potentially significant flooding” in some areas, forecasters said.

Meanwhile, winds could gust at 40-50 mph from the midcoast through central Maine, according to the weather service forecast.

But this storm is unlikely to bring to the same widespread damage from the powerful wind and rain storm that led to historic flooding last December.

“There is more storage for runoff with low stream levels across most of the region than there was last year, this storm will be more progressive, and the snowmelt from the mountains will be less,” weather service meteorologists wrote in a forecast issued Tuesday morning. “However, it is possible that some localized flooding could result in similar impacts, so don’t let your guard down.”

Drought-like conditions most of Maine experienced up until recently are also expected to limit flooding impacts, compared to last year’s storm, Cempa said.

“We are not expecting as much rain, nor as much snowmelt,” Cempa said Tuesday afternoon. “We think the impact on the rivers might not be as bad, but we still have to look out for flash flooding and road culverts because we are going to get a fair amount of rain in a short period of time.”

The Maine Emergency Management Agency said in a news release Tuesday it is monitoring the storm and flooding concerns, also warning that falling tree branches could cause power outages.

Due to forecasts for potentially high winds, Central Maine Power Co. has been pre-staging line and tree crews across its service area, spokesperson Jon Breed said.

“Our crews are pros and they’ll be ready to get to work for our customers, if there is tree damage or other forms of damage,” Breed said Tuesday.

On Wednesday, company officials said equipment and materials are being deployed to support the company’s regional service centers in Maine, which includes providing storm kits for field crews that contain items needed for power restoration.

As with every storm, they noted, CMP crews are prohibited from raising bucket trucks when wind speeds exceed 30 mph.

In Somerset County, local emergency management officials were monitoring the latest forecasts Tuesday, but for the time being, were playing it by ear, said Mike Smith, the director of the county’s emergency management agency.

“I think everybody’s on pins and needles, just wondering if we are looking at what we had last year,” Smith said in a phone call Tuesday afternoon, adding that a storm in December 2022 also led to flooding issues in Somerset County.

Smith said he received communication from officials at Brookfield Renewable, which operates several dams on the Kennebec River, that they are preparing for the storm by operating at its lower licensed limit at Wyman Lake, near Moscow, and began lowering impoundments of the Weston Project in Skowhegan and Shawmut Project in Fairfield by four feet.

“They’re doing everything they can to keep flows down and to bring it down as low as they possibly can by license,” Smith said. “So hopefully, it will take care of the issue.”

But the greatest impacts in the December 2023 storm, Smith said, were from the tributaries that flow into the Kennebec River in Somerset County, including the Carrabassett and Sandy rivers.

“The real problem happened at that convergence of the Kennebec and the Carrabassett,” Smith said.

Closure warning signs were posted by officials Wednesday on Front Street in Augusta along the banks of Kennebec River as a precaution because the city was under flood watch due a heavy rain forecast. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Farther south, in Augusta, City Manager Jared Mills said in his weekly update to city councilors that the city’s emergency management team will be prepared and monitoring updates from the National Weather Service for predictions on Kennebec River water levels.

He said reports indicate most reservoirs that, when they’re full, feed into the river, are low, and thus will be able to handle some of the additional runoff from the storm.

Mills said the city’s public works crews would, in preparation for the rainstorm following on the heels of Tuesday’s snowstorm, make sure catch basins and sluiceways in Augusta are clear and open.

Haley Gauvin, the city of Augusta’s director of communications and marketing, said as a precautionary measure the north end of the riverside Front Street parking lot was to close at midnight Tuesday. Any vehicles left in the closed area could be towed, at the owner’s expense, she warned. The parking lot often floods when Kennebec River levels rise.

Working in the middle of Cony Circle before Wednesday’s wind storm started, city of Augusta employees added extra stakes to hold down decorated holiday trees. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Gauvin said immediate flood impacts were not anticipated but the forecast predicted significant rainfall continuing through Wednesday. And the combination of rainfall, warmer temperatures, and snowmelt may cause the river to rise later this week.

Gauvin said the city would use e-notifications through a citizen alert system and post information on the city’s website and social media platforms.

Augusta residents can report issues such as downed trees or power lines to the public safety dispatch center at 626-2370 or public works at 626-2435.