(NECN: Amy Sinclair, Brunswick, Maine) - Parts of Maine will stay dark Monday night, thanks to a fast-moving storm that dumped nearly a foot of heavy, wet snow overnight.
The latest storm was a setback for Central Maine Power and Bangor Hydro crews that had been working 17-hour shifts for the last week to restore power following a major ice storm that, at its peak, left 150,000 customers without electricity.
CMP was down to just 50 outages when the storm rolled in. With it came 10,000 new calls for service.
The problem, said CMP line supervisor Gary Hawkes , is the one-two punch with no thaw in between.
"The snow that's on the trees stays there. It doesn't get a chance to melt off and take the weight off and let the trees spring back up to where they should be," said Hawkes. "We're all hoping for a nice, sunny 40-degree day."
But with much colder temps on the way, that melt won't happen anytime soon.
CMP hopes to have all power restored by Tuesday. Bangor Hydro is shooting for New Year's Day.
