Thousands remain without power as Maine cleans up after wicked winds

By Leela Stockley, Bangor Daily News Staff

The impacts of high winds on Friday carried through to Saturday morning, with thousands of Mainers still without power as storm crews worked to repair lines. 

According to Versant’s power outage tracker, 57,538 customers were without power as of 7 a.m. on Saturday. 

Most of those outages were reported throughout the greater Bangor region, and throughout the greater Ellsworth region. 

The company expects power restoration to take place over multiple days. 

As of 7 a.m., nearly 180,000 Central Maine Power residents were still without power. The majority of outages remained in Cumberland and York counties. Continued high winds and dangerous conditions made it difficult to undertake linework, according to the utility, so restoration efforts could last a number of days. 

Many areas were affected with flooding along with high winds, with numerous cars becoming stranded after high tide floodwaters swept across streets. 

In Cape Elizabeth, the Portland Head Light took a battering and water ran through the streets at high tide. The high tide reached 13.72 at high tide, CBS 13 meteorologist Charlie Lopresti reported. That’s the fourth-highest tide in Portland history, according to WGME.

In the Old Port, there was flooding near J’s Oyster and Commercial Street.

Wind gusts in Bangor reached up to 66 miles per hour on Friday, according to the National Weather Service office in Caribou. Wind gusts regularly reached more than 50 mph across Penobscot County. 

In Piscataquis County, the highest gust recorded reached 65 mph in Greenville.

In Hancock County, the highest wind speed was recorded as a 69 mph gust in Castine, while gusts reached up to 78 mph near Lubec in Washington County. 

In Aroostook County, the highest wind gust recorded reached 77 miles per hour at the Frenchville Airport. 

In the southernmost part of the state, wind gusts reached up to 76 mph near Criehaven in Knox County, according to the Gray NWS office. 

Wind speeds reached 64 mph at the Portland Jetport, while reaching 67 mph in New Harbor in Lincoln County. 

On Saturday morning, moderate winds were expected to continue across the state, but temperatures dropped from unseasonable temps back down to freezing quickly. 

It’s expected to stay chilly this weekend, with most of the interior experiencing temperatures in the teens and low 20s, while wind chills will likely make it feel close to zero. Coastal areas will likely see slightly warmer temps in the mid 20s, but wind chill is expected to persist along the coast as well. 

In windy conditions, hypothermia can occur within minutes even in 20-degree weather.