While residents of Maine's three major service center communities awoke to significant new snowfalls Friday, Bangor's 18.3 inches of new flakes surpassed levels in either Portland or Lewiston.
Bangor City Manager Cathy Conlow says the recent cold temperatures have done little to melt snow accumulations from the last storm. Like other communities, Bangor uses a deicing agent to clear its streets and sidewalks, but Conlow says it’s only effective to about five degrees above zero.
“So we’re going to work hard over the next 24 hours to try get as much material onto the roads and get those cleared, because once the subzero temperatures set in, it’s going to be difficult,” she says.
Conlow urges Bangor motorists to use extra caution as they negotiate city streets and highways, where already high snowbanks have been elevated to small mountains in some instances. Temperatures are expected to continue plunging to subzero levels this evening, posing further challenges to Maine motorists.