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Log inIts force ebbing, Hurricane Kyle soaks coastal Maine
Its force ebbing, Hurricane Kyle soaks coastal Maine
by Outspoken on Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:53 am
Its force ebbing, Hurricane Kyle soaks coastal Maine
The state is spared a direct hit as the storm stays east and bears down on Nova Scotia.
By DAVID SHARP
The Associated Press
MACHIAS — Fishermen moved boats to shelter from a rare burst of tropical weather along Maine's Down East coast Sunday as a weakening Hurricane Kyle spun past on its way to Canada.
A hurricane watch for Maine was discontinued Sunday, but a tropical storm warning remained in effect from Stonington, at the mouth of Penobscot Bay, to Eastport on the Canadian border. The Canadian Hurricane Centre issued a hurricane warning for parts of southwestern Nova Scotia, with tropical storm warnings for parts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The Category 1 storm's track was expected to bring its center ashore overnight in New Brunswick, just west of Saint John, but by then it was expected to have less than hurricane strength.
In Maine, heavy rain lashed the state Sunday for a third straight day. As much as 5.5 inches had fallen along coastal areas, but most of that came from a storm system separate from Kyle. Flood watches were in effect for the southern two-thirds of New Hampshire and southern Maine through Sunday, and flooding closed some roads in eastern Maine.
Maine emergency responders had been bracing for wind gusts as high as 60 mph and waves up to 20 feet, but as the day wore on, it became clear that the state was escaping a direct hit.
The Portland area was just grazed, and Sunday's rainfall was modest. As of 5 p.m. Sunday, only 1.12 inches of rain had fallen at the Portland jetport, said Butch Roberts, a forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Gray. The highest recorded wind speed was 10 mph, with gusts reaching 14 mph, Roberts said.
Police departments throughout southern Maine reported no problems associated with the storm, other than minor basement flooding.
The Down East region was another story. Officials still expected strong winds and "the attendant power outages" there, Lynette Miller, spokeswoman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency, said Sunday evening. "We're cautiously optimistic that things will not be as bad as we originally feared."
Down East residents are accustomed to rough weather, but it most often comes in the winter, when nor'easters howl along the East Coast. Maine hasn't had anything like a hurricane since Bob was downgraded as it moved into the state in 1991 after causing problems in southern New England.
While residents took precautions, many weren't impressed by Kyle.
"It probably won't be much different than a nor'easter except we don't have to deal with the snow," said Jesse Davis of Marshfield, who planned to ride out the wind and rain at home with his wife and 2-month-old daughter. He gassed up his vehicles and generator, took in his deck furniture and filled up water jugs, but said that's what he does for any big storm.
"Down East, we get storms with 50- to 60-mph winds every winter. Those storms can become ferocious," said Michael Hinerman, director of the Washington County Emergency Management Agency.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=212880&ac=PHnws
The Associated Press
Gabor Degre/Bangor Daily News
The state is spared a direct hit as the storm stays east and bears down on Nova Scotia.
By DAVID SHARP
The Associated Press
MACHIAS — Fishermen moved boats to shelter from a rare burst of tropical weather along Maine's Down East coast Sunday as a weakening Hurricane Kyle spun past on its way to Canada.
A hurricane watch for Maine was discontinued Sunday, but a tropical storm warning remained in effect from Stonington, at the mouth of Penobscot Bay, to Eastport on the Canadian border. The Canadian Hurricane Centre issued a hurricane warning for parts of southwestern Nova Scotia, with tropical storm warnings for parts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The Category 1 storm's track was expected to bring its center ashore overnight in New Brunswick, just west of Saint John, but by then it was expected to have less than hurricane strength.
In Maine, heavy rain lashed the state Sunday for a third straight day. As much as 5.5 inches had fallen along coastal areas, but most of that came from a storm system separate from Kyle. Flood watches were in effect for the southern two-thirds of New Hampshire and southern Maine through Sunday, and flooding closed some roads in eastern Maine.
Maine emergency responders had been bracing for wind gusts as high as 60 mph and waves up to 20 feet, but as the day wore on, it became clear that the state was escaping a direct hit.
The Portland area was just grazed, and Sunday's rainfall was modest. As of 5 p.m. Sunday, only 1.12 inches of rain had fallen at the Portland jetport, said Butch Roberts, a forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Gray. The highest recorded wind speed was 10 mph, with gusts reaching 14 mph, Roberts said.
Police departments throughout southern Maine reported no problems associated with the storm, other than minor basement flooding.
The Down East region was another story. Officials still expected strong winds and "the attendant power outages" there, Lynette Miller, spokeswoman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency, said Sunday evening. "We're cautiously optimistic that things will not be as bad as we originally feared."
Down East residents are accustomed to rough weather, but it most often comes in the winter, when nor'easters howl along the East Coast. Maine hasn't had anything like a hurricane since Bob was downgraded as it moved into the state in 1991 after causing problems in southern New England.
While residents took precautions, many weren't impressed by Kyle.
"It probably won't be much different than a nor'easter except we don't have to deal with the snow," said Jesse Davis of Marshfield, who planned to ride out the wind and rain at home with his wife and 2-month-old daughter. He gassed up his vehicles and generator, took in his deck furniture and filled up water jugs, but said that's what he does for any big storm.
"Down East, we get storms with 50- to 60-mph winds every winter. Those storms can become ferocious," said Michael Hinerman, director of the Washington County Emergency Management Agency.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=212880&ac=PHnws
The Associated Press
Gabor Degre/Bangor Daily News
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