A few thousand power outages have been reported on Friday night, likely due to weather conditions and car crashes across the state.
As of 7:45 p.m., more than 5,000 Central Maine Power customers were without power, according to the utility’s outage map. Nearly half of those outages were in Cumberland County, while approximately 1,300 Oxford County customers were without power.
At least two dozen car crashes were reported across the state on Friday, with the majority occurring on interstate highways and the Maine Turnpike, according to the Maine State Police. But reports of crashes on roadways across the state started coming in on Friday night.
As of 7:30 p.m., Versant Power was not reporting any outages.
Storm crews are on standby across much of Maine, as snowfall is expected to continue over most of the weekend.
Southern and western Maine are expected to bear the brunt of the storm system moving through this weekend, with the western mountain regions projected to see up to a foot and a half of snowfall by Monday. Inland southern and central Maine are projected to see up to a foot of snowfall over the weekend, while the forecast predicts a few inches of snow in the most coastal regions, according to the Gray office of the National Weather Service.
Central and northern Maine can expect heavy snowfall throughout the weekend, with up to a foot and a half of snowfall predicted in the immediate Katahdin region. The Caribou office of the NWS expects up to a foot of snowfall in northern Penobscot county and Aroostook County.
Down East Maine might escape the worst of the storm, with up to four inches of snow predicted to hit most of Washington County over the weekend.
Maine’s major interstate systems will likely be impacted by ongoing snowfall over the weekend, and travelers are cautioned to stay alert to road conditions while driving.
