As Maine deals with the year's first big statewide winter storm, the Maine Department of Transportation is out on the roads.
"We've seen challenging road conditions starting early this morning and we have 350 trucks treating the roads," says Maine Department of Transportation spokesman Ted Talbot.
Over the next several hours, snow in the south will be mixing with sleet and freezing drizzle, which means slick roads; northern roads are still very snowy.
The Maine Turnpike's speed limit has been reduced to 45 miles an hour and Talbot says people should stay off the roads if they can, but if they have to drive, they should be extremely cautious.
"4 wheel drive is great in snow but not so much in ice and that's the reason for the 45 mph limit, please be very very careful as you travel this evening through the overnight," says Talbot.
The storm's expected to move east out of the state this evening, so eastern Maine will lkely see a few more inches; and the far north could see several more inches of accumulation.
Storm totals are expected to be about six inches in the south, to as many as 12 - 15 inches in the north.
This after a December that has felt more like spring than winter.
Snow changes to sleet and freezing rain from Portland west and south and to all rain from Biddeford south.
National Weather Service Meteoroloist Stacey Haines in Gray says snow moved very quickly this morning into New Hampshire and southwestern Maine and will continue moving across the state. And how much snow should we expect?
"We have snowfall totals ranging anywhere from 3 to 5 inches in southern New Hampshire and southwest Maine and then as you go north and east it increases all the way up to 10 inches and higher," Haines says.
The speed limit on the Maine Turnpike has been reduced to 45 miles per hour.
