Ice Storm — Coastal York, Maine

2008-12-11 to 2008-12-12 · Coastal York, Maine

Wider weather episode

A major winter storm brought a mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain to Maine from the morning of December 11th to the morning of December 12th. The greatest impact in the state was in coastal counties of the state where a significant ice storm occurred. Following the ice storm, recovery and restoration efforts were negatively impacted by additional winter weather events that passed through the state.

The ice storm was caused by an area of low pressure that moved northeastward along a stalled frontal boundary off the East Coast. Near ground level, cold air from eastern Canada funneled southward into the region on northerly winds. Southerly winds at higher levels of the atmosphere brought warmer (above freezing) air in aloft. Across southern sections of Maine, the thermal structure of the atmosphere was conducive to produce freezing rain and sleet event. A mixture of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain began Thursday morning across the state. However, as the northerly winds strengthened at the surface and southerly winds strengthened aloft, the precipitation changed to mostly a mix of sleet and freezing rain across western Maine. The freezing rain and sleet continued overnight and into Friday morning before ending. While 'melted' precipitation amounts across much of southwestern and coastal Maine ranged from 1 to 3 inches, ice accretion to trees and wires in the coastal counties generally ranged from about a half inch to about an inch. The weight of the ice caused branches to snap, and trees to either snap or uproot, and brought down power lines and poles across the region. Hundred of thousands of utility customers lost power during the event, with some customers without power for more than a week. Central Maine Power Company reported about 220,000 customers without power during height of the storm. Total damages across western and mid coast Maine were estimated to be more than $13 million with most of the damage in coastal areas.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 148425. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.