Weather Service: Snow is normal
December well known for more storms
Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
AUGUSTA — The storm that plowed through Maine and the Northeast Wednesday night left nearly two feet of snow in some parts of the state. But it was nothing out of the ordinary when you look at longer-term trends of winter weather, explained U.S. Weather Service hydrometeorological technician James Brown at the agency's Maine headquarters in Gray.
Photo by KRIS THIBODEAUA snowplow truck that was driven by 35-year-old Matthew Lee of Albion, lies on its side at the intersection of Benton and East Benton roads in Albion on Thursday morning. Deputy Jeremy Damren of Kennebec Sheriff's Office said Lee lost control of his vehicle just after midnight when he backed into a ditch while plowing snow. Damren said Lee, who received a cut on his hand in the accident, was able to walk away from the accident. click to enlarge
"This is December in Maine. It's really not that uncommon. It just hasn't happened in a while," Brown said.
Memories do not have to be very long to remember bigger hits on the state, he said.
"In December '89 we had a huge amount of snow. I remember because that was the first year I came here," Brown said. "That was one of the coldest and snowiest winters ever."
Brown explained that the storm that struck Maine on Christmas night left considerably different accumulations in areas not far from one another.
"There was a lot of banding and some extreme variability between bands, but most of the banding was along the coast," Brown said.
He said Westbrook took the prize with 22 inches of snow, with the only two official measurements in Kennebec County being 13.7 inches in Albion and eight inches in Waterville.
"Augusta was probably more than eight inches but less than 13. Probably about 10 inches," Brown said.
The banding of snow was caused by the intensity of the storm, which caused rapidly rising air, Brown explained. He said snow depths decreased dramatically depending upon the distance from the ocean, with heaviest amounts closer to the coast.
"It was a convection-type of event which occurs in very strong storms like this one. It's the dynamics of a very powerful storm," Brown said. "There's a tremendous amount of lift caused by the convection. The convection is just like a thunderstorm in the summer but this is snow instead of rain."
Police in Gardiner estimated they had 14 to 16 inches of snow on the ground by Thursday morning.
"We couldn't move around very well so we laid low until we got calls and then we went out and dealt with them. It was pretty dangerous for a while," said Gardiner officer Julian Harwood, who worked a double shift from 10 p.m. Christmas night until 2 p.m. Thursday. "It seemed it really started picking up around midnight."
Traffic remained light throughout the night, Harwood said, apparently drivers stayed put on the holiday. That gave plow crews an easier time clearing streets.
"We had a few accidents in town. About the most serious was mine. When I was coming in to work I hit a tree" about 9:30 p.m. on Northern Avenue in Farmingdale, Harwood said, He was not seriously injured, he said, but the same could not be said for his car. "I couldn't drive it. We're not sure if it was totaled or not. It's probably going to be. It was coming down pretty hard then, too."
Kennebec Sheriff's Office deputies handled fender benders in China, Sidney and Winslow during the early morning commute Thursday. At 12:36 p.m. Vassalboro fire and rescue personnel responded to a three-car pileup on Route 201. At least one person was taken to the hospital.
In Augusta police said there were no accidents during the storm, a tribute to drivers' willingness to stay off the roads during the heaviest snow hours, police Sgt. Michael Toman said. Thursday morning as drivers tried to make their way to work on slippery roads, five accidents occurred, including a head-on crash at the intersection of Winthrop and State streets sending one person to a hospital.
"There really wasn't much traffic on the road last night so we really didn't have too much problem. We didn't have any accidents last night. As people came out on the slippery roads (Thursday) morning there probably were two or three accidents," Toman said.
He said his department's regular patrols were not slowed by the storm.
"We put the four-wheel drives out on the road so they were out all night long," Toman said. "And the public works crews were out all night long so they kept up with it pretty good."
At least three cars were towed during the night, according to police reports.
"A few people are upset about that. But most of them understand," Toman said. "That's about normal for a storm of this size."
Augusta Public Works Director John H. Charest said having so few cars on the streets for the holiday and the state holding off its morning commute until noon made work easier for snowplow drivers.
"It's expensive on holidays (due to driver overtime costs), but as far as working it's great because there's no traffic. And (Thursday morning) the state canceled until noon, so I didn't have those 30,000 cars coming in this morning," Charest explained.
The storm hit Maine's capital city later than expected, allowing his crews to spend more time at home with their families. But once it started, he said the storm was over relatively quickly and visibility was better than in some storms of the past.
"We started at 6 (Wednesday) night, but they were expecting it. We were fortunate we were able to stay home as long as we did. We expected people would be called in at noon," he said. "Actually it was a good storm. It came. It dropped the snow. And it left ... It was not as bad as all the forecasters predicted. And the visibility was bad but I've seen a lot worse. That's what my operators said too."
Charest said he had 23 plows on the road for the storm, most working from 6 p.m. on Christmas night until about noon Thursday.
Thursday afternoon Charest said he had four units still on the road, having sent all his other employees home to return at 10 p.m. to begin trucking away the piles of snow.
Gary Remal — 623-3811, Ext. 518 gremal@centralmaine.com