A major snowstorm closed businesses and schools, disrupted air travel and caused isolated power outages in Maine on Sunday into Monday.
Winter Storm “Fern,” which has affected much of the U.S., is expected to move offshore late Monday night — but not before dumping as much as 18 inches of snow across Maine and ushering in strong winds. Temperatures in the single digits also created challenges. As of Monday mid-morning, many areas of the state had received up to a foot of snow.
A private aircraft with eight people aboard crashed at Bangor International Airport on Sunday at 7:45 p.m. All six passengers were killed, according to news reports. As of Monday at noon, the Bangor airport was closed; passengers were urged to contact their airlines for updates.
At Portland International Jetport, all flights before 8:40 a.m. were canceled, but, for now, most later flights are still listed with “scheduled” status.
In a note on its website, the jetport said that several airlines had issued travel advisories ahead of the storm and advised passengers to check carriers for current flight status before heading to the airport.
Power outages have been minimal so far. Central Maine Power Co. said Friday it planned to have extra crews on hand and was coordinating with the Maine Emergency Management Agency on warming shelters in the event people lose power. On Saturday, Versant reported a pre-storm outage affecting 1,200 customers in the Stonington-Deer Isle area.
Maine Department of Transportation urged drivers to “use extreme caution and avoid travel unless absolutely necessary” and to give space to plow operators.
On Sunday, both the Maine Mariners and Maine Celtics moved up the start time of games to give fans a chance to get home before the worst of the storm. Both teams won, the Celtics defeating the Greensboro (N.C.) Swarm by 147-138 and the Mariners beating Quèbec’s Trois-Rivières Lions 5-2 with four power-play goals.
On Monday, the Aroma Joe’s chain of coffee shops was offering free 16-ounce cups of coffee to snowplow drivers and first responders.
