It started with a few sporadic flakes in Portland on Tuesday. Small white specks falling in your peripheral vision, so obscure you’d question whether your mind made it up.

But soon enough, southern Maine’s first snow of the winter season came falling — to varying degrees. And more may be on the way.

The drizzle of snow in Greater Portland on Tuesday was outdone by a quick flurry near Lewiston that prompted speed restrictions on parts of Interstate 95.

“A steady burst” of flakes hit areas north and west of Lewiston early Tuesday afternoon, said Michael Clair, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Gray office.

A weather service alert sent at 12:30 p.m. warned that snow in the region could “substantially reduce visibility.”

Soon after, speeds on the Maine Turnpike from New Gloucester to its terminus in Augusta were reduced to 45 mph for more than an hour, according to WMTW. That restriction was later lifted.

As of midafternoon Tuesday, Clair said the Lewiston and Augusta areas had gotten up to an inch of snow, though he said it was possible that totals would grow overnight in some spots.

The snow didn’t stick in Portland but at least briefly accumulated in the areas hit the hardest.

“An intermittent coating of snow is common where some of those steadier bursts are moving through,” Clair said.

More flakes may fall in southern Maine on Wednesday, Clair said.

“We have this big upper-level system sitting overhead,” he said. “There’s a good chance we’ll see a few more snow showers develop during the daytime (Wednesday).”

While the southern portion of the state celebrated — or scoffed at — its first dose of winter, much of northern Maine was unscathed as of Tuesday afternoon.

“We’ve seen a dusting of snow showers across the Moosehead region,” said James Sinko, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Caribou office, but elsewhere the showers were few and far between.

And while more snowflakes could be seen in southern Maine on Wednesday, some raindrops along the coast are all that’s expected up north — a relief from the snow and freezing rain that swept the region over the weekend.

“There may be a few rain showers along the Down East coast, but not much in the way of snow,” Sinko said.

The snowfall in the mountains came to the delight of skiers and ski resorts. Last week, both Sugarloaf and Sunday River started their snowmaking drives for the upcoming start to the season.