A fast-moving storm will bring heavy rain and strong winds to Maine starting Tuesday night and into Wednesday evening.
It will start as freezing rain in most areas, but temperatures will quickly rise well above freezing Wednesday. The state is expected to receive two-to-three inches of rain, possibly as much as four to five inches in the foothills, said Derek Schroeter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray.
"We're still expecting there to be impacts from the heavy rainfall, leading to flooding and sharp rises on area streams," he said. "And we could see rivers approach moderate flood stage. There's also a risk for localized ice jams."
But unlike last December's winter storm that inundated central and western Maine, this system will move more quickly, and the highest wind gusts will be along the coast.
And this time, Maine's rivers and streams should be able to hold more rain and snow melt, Schroeter said.
"We've had a very dry fall, so our rivers and streams are much lower going into this event than the event last December," he said.
In addition, this storm will not fall during a high astronomical tide, which led to devastating flooding along the Maine coast during two back-to-back storms in January.
Still, Schroeter said people should be prepared for the possibility of localized flooding and power outages. Temperatures will drop quickly by Thursday evening, which could complicate travel on slippery roads.
Versant Power has additional crews on hand in anticipation of the upcoming storm, the utility said Tuesday morning.
