Displays at the Aubuchon hardware store in Skowhegan featured five sizes of wood ax, some small snow blowers, sleds, suet for wild birds and a variety of snow shovels on Saturday as the region braced for a winter storm expected to drop up to 8 inches of snow in southeastern Maine, but half that amount in central Maine.
The best selling item so far this winter? Ice scrapers and salt.
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Store clerk Luke Tanner said he and others were hoping for snow from Saturday’s storm because most of the winter has brought freezing rain, sleet and ice.
“We’re selling snow shovels, but mostly we’re selling salt and shovels with the metal tip so they can scrape up the ice, because it’s been really icy,” Tanner said. “Ice scrapers, ice picks, salt.”
Tanner and other snow lovers might have to wait until Tuesday when another, bigger winter storm might arrive, according to the National Weather Service.
Snow moved into the state shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday. By noon, a couple of inches were on the ground.
But this time, no ice.
Maine State Police Trooper Scott Duff said Saturday state police responded to 17 accidents between Augusta and Waterville during the storm, mostly on Interstate 95.
They included several rollovers, Duff said, but he didn’t think any resulted in serious injuries for those involved.
At least four accidents occurred near exit 112 in Augusta, including three within an hour, between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m.
“We called out extra people to give a hand, we were backed up so much,” Duff said of the series of weather-related accidents.
Duff said none of the accidents required shutting down the interstate, which he said officials are reluctant to do because that can cause more problems than keeping at least one travel lane open.
The speed limit was reduced to 45 mph on I-95 because of the storm.
In the Waterville area, the snow began to spit about 11 a.m., Public Works Director Mark Turner said. By 3:30 p.m. less than 2 inches were on the ground. A winter weather advisory was posted for the Waterville, Winslow and Oakland area until midnight Saturday, for a total predicted snowfall of 2 to 4 inches.
“The roads and main arteries are being treated by our crews,” Turner said. “If it gets to a point where accumulations are large enough, we’ll bring in the whole plow crew and plow all the roads. Right now I don’t think any plowing has been done. It’s mostly just sanding. We haven’t had any large snowstorms. It’s mostly smaller snowstorms but a lot of sleet, freezing rain and that sort of icy condition that we have to respond to also.”
Turner said his crews have been out about a dozen times since fall began, beginning early in November and including a storm around Thanksgiving; but a lot of the work was keeping up with the ice. As much as 2 feet of snow has fallen so far this season, he said, but most if not all of it has been washed away by heavy rain.
The first few flakes began falling in Skowhegan just before 2 p.m., when the temperature was 29 degrees, but no winter weather advisories were in place. Skowhegan Road Commissioner Greg Dore said his crews already were out by 3 p.m., despite the lack of appreciable snow, to treat the roads so they didn’t get slippery.
Nikki Becker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray said by 3 p.m. about 2 inches had fallen there.
Sunday’s forecast is for sunny weather, with the temperature falling to around 17 degrees by 5 p.m.; and sunny and in the teens again on Monday.
Becker, at the National Weather Service, said predictions are for another storm to form along the Eastern Seaboard and move up the coast into New England late Monday into Tuesday.
“We don’t forecast the snow amounts, but it’s looking like it will be mostly a coastal storm,” she said.
Staff writer Keith Edwards contributed to this report.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter: @Doug_Harlow
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