Maine's first winter storm means cancellations, closings

Commercial Street in Portland covered in snow

Photo / Peter Van Allen Commercial Street in Portland was quiet on Tuesday morning in anticipation of heavy snow.

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Winter came in with a bang on Tuesday, with the season's first snowstorm.

The day is already shaping up with a host of closings and cancellations.

Portland City Hall and city administrative offices are closed for the day. Parking bans are in effect.

"Employees who can work from home will do so," the city said in a press release. "As always, thank you to our staff who will be keeping the essential parts of our city running for the safety and care of residents and visitors."

Gov. Janet Mills ordered state offices to close at noon Tuesday.

"This is Maine's first major storm of the season, and we want to ensure that people stay safe," she said.

Maine Turnpike Authority issued an alert to reduce the speed limit on the Maine Turnpike to 45 miles per hour.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency urged Mainers to be prepared for heavy snow and winds gusting to 30 miles per hour.

The National Weather Service called for four to seven inches of heavy snow in southern Maine, while Bangor was expected to get 4 to 8 inches of snow with winds gusting to 35 miles per hour.

Central Maine Power said it has brought on extra crews to be at the ready in case of outages. CMP, which has 660,000 customers in 346 communities in Maine, said its meteorologists have been monitoring the storm's progress.

“Storm response and preparedness at CMP is critical, which is why we work year-round to continuously improve our readiness,” said Linda Ball, president and CEO.

Many public schools are closed.

As of mid-morning, the Portland International Jetport was not reporting any delays. With the storm moving north from the mid-Atlantic states, Bangor International Airport is reporting delays on certain flights to Philadelphia and Newark, N.J.

Ski areas

Not everyone is upset about the snow.

Saddleback, the Rangeley ski area, said it plans to open Friday, Dec. 5, with "eight or more trails." It will open for the weekend, close during the week and then officially start daily operations on Friday, Dec. 12.

At Boyne Resorts' largest ski areas, Sugarloaf is reporting 23 trails open as of Tuesday morning while Sunday River is reporting 12 trails open.

Editor's note: This story will be updated.

Mainebiz CEO Forum is a 'go'

Mainebiz will host the annual Bangor CEO Forum on Wednesday, Dec. 3, from 7:30-10 a.m., at the Hilton Garden Inn.

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