Thousands lose power as blustery storm moves through Maine - Press Herald

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Blustery winds and rain knocked out power to thousands in Maine and caused some coastal flooding on Saturday.

More than 7,500 customers lost electricity in southern and western Maine during the day. Central Maine Power reported that 2,440 customers were without power in Oxford County at midafternoon. Androscoggin, Cumberland and York counties all had more than 1,200 people without power at different points in the day. More than half of the outages were resolved by 7:30 p.m., although more than 1,100 people in Oxford County still did not have their service. The utility has more than 650,000 customers.

Versant Power, which serves more than 160,000 people in northern and eastern Maine, reported fewer than 100 outages earlier in the day but saw nearly 3,000 customers lose power by 7:30 p.m.

The National Weather Service in Gray reported wind gusts at 48 miles per hour at Portland International Jetport and 51 mph at the Portland Harbor buoy around noon. Other areas, including York, reported similar speeds.

Rain along the coast turned to snow farther west. Weather service meteorologist Andy Pohl said Lewiston and Auburn got rain, while Rumford and Bethel got snow. The Gray office saw an inch of rain.

“The line is right along there,” Pohl said. “It’s extremely elevation-based. The higher elevations will get significantly more snow.”

The weather service also received a small number of reports about coastal flooding, including at Camp Ellis in Saco and on Marginal Way in Portland. Social media posts also showed waves crashing over roadside barriers near Wells Beach. Meteorologists had warned about that possibility when the storm was moving in.

Pohl said Sunday should be a windy day with gusts around 35 mph in many areas.

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