MADAWASKA, Maine — Mother nature threw some high winds and snow at Aroostook County residents last week.
On Tuesday, Oct. 16, wind gusts of up to 56 miles per hour blew down trees and limbs on power lines knocking out power to an estimated 80,000 people statewide, including about 12,000 in Emera Maine territory.
In The County, the National Weather Service reported gusts that reached 56 mph in Frenchville, 52 in Houlton, 48 gusts in Presque Isle, 45 in Fort Kent, and 42 in Madawaska. Hundreds of outages were scattered around Aroostook, with power restored to most Emera customers by Wednesday morning.
Andrea Place said that power at her Houlton home flickered “on and off” throughout the day Tuesday.
The first dusting of snow this season fell on the St. John Valley overnight. Residents faced snow covered roads like 12th Avenue and French Street in Madawaska during the morning commute Thursday.
(Staff Photo / Linda Pelletier)
“I didn’t read about the impending storm until it was too late,” she said Wednesday. “I still had my screen house up in my backyard and that was totally destroyed by the storm. My neighbor’s lawn furniture blew into our yard as well, and our barbeque grill was toppled over.”
Then on Thursday morning, residents of northern Maine awoke to a dusting of snow with temperatures just below freezing. Scattered snow showers blanketed the St. John Valley in the morning before temperatures rose into the 40s, melting away the season’s first offering.
As if adding insult to injury, more strong winds, with gusts of up to 45 miles per hour, battered The County again Thursday, causing more scattered outages.
At noon, Emera Maine reported 1,381 customers had lost electricity service across its territory in Aroostook, Penobscot, Washington and Hancock counties.
Slightly over 400 of those outages were in the Madawaska and Caribou areas in The County. Power went out at the Woodland Consolidated School at about 11 a.m., so administrators sent students home at 12:30 p.m.
Utility crews struggled throughout the day to keep up with the outages until the winds started to die down. By 4 p.m., Emera was still reporting a little over 1,000 outages, though the numbers in Aroostook had been reduced to 72, with the brunt in the Blaine, Bridgewater area.
This week, the NWS Caribou office issued a hazardous weather outlook for all of Aroostook and the northern parts of Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, indicating that a low pressure system tracking through the area might bring with it a period of wet snow late Tuesday night into Wednesday.
“The best chance for some snow accumulation,” state the forecast, “will be over the higher elevations across the north.”
