Despite warnings, thousands of Mainers expected to travel for holidays
Winter holiday travel will be far less prevalent than in previous years, but many will still hit the road as public officials urge caution amid the raging pandemic.
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Jill McCarthy of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, picks up her luggage at the Portland International Jetport on Wednesday after arrival. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is advising residents against traveling for the Christmas and New Year s holidays. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Thousands of Mainers and millions of New Englanders are expected to travel for the upcoming holidays, despite repeated warnings from health officials that doing so could worsen a surge of coronavirus cases in Maine and the nation.
A Christmas gift of driving wind and heavy rain may create havoc for Maine utility companies, airports and some businesses and perhaps even Santa Claus.
Winter Storm Harold, which caused blizzards in the Midwest, was making its way east and expected to hit Maine late Thursday night, the National Weather Service said. The hazardous weather will continue through Friday evening.
High wind and flood watches were issued for much of the state. Because of unusually warm temperatures, Maine won’t see snow, but predictions called for up to 2.5 inches of rain and more than 3 inches in mountain regions. The forecast also included winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts up to 60 mph.
An unwelcome Christmas gift: drenching rain, 50 mph winds and probable power outages
Forecasters warn that a powerful storm could cause widespread outages for the 4th time this month starting Christmas Eve.
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Mother Nature is expected to deliver an unwelcome present on Christmas Day, a powerful wind and rain storm that forecasters say could cause flooding and widespread power outages.
“The primary hazards will be strong winds potentially over 50 mph, heavy rainfall of 1 to 3 inches, areas of dense fog and coastal splash over,” the National Weather Service office in Gray warned in a Tuesday evening tweet. “Power outages are likely where winds gust over 50 mph, especially along the coast. In addition, minor to moderate stream and river flooding will be possible due to the combination of snow melt, warm temperatures, and heavy rainfall.”
Chicago Mar 15, 2018
It is rare that an animal dies on a plane, even on United Airlines, which is under siege over the death of a puppy on one of its flights. There was only one death for roughly every 4,500 animals United transported in its cargo holds last year. But the 18 animals, mostly dogs, that died while being transported on United. Chicago Mar 15, 2018
United Airlines said Wednesday the flight attendant who ordered a passenger to put a dog in a carrier in an overhead compartment on a New York City-bound flight earlier this week “did not hear or understand” the mother’s pleas not to put the pup in the bin.
Nor easter review: what worked, what didn t for the snow forecast in Maine
The snow forecast for coastal Maine undershot totals by quite a bit. In northern and central Maine, though, the forecast worked out well. Author: Mike Slifer (NEWS CENTER Maine) Published: 2:27 PM EST December 18, 2020 Updated: 2:40 PM EST December 18, 2020
MAINE, USA This nor easter turned out to be one for the books! Well, in some spots. Portland ended the storm with a total of 17.6 at the Jetport. Gorham, which is less than 10 miles away, ended up with 24.1 of fluff.
If you take a trip to Bangor, don t expect a wintry wonderland. Reports out of Brewer, Bangor, and Old Town all topped out near 2 or 3 .