If You Live in Bangor and Downeast Maine Should You Cook Your Turkey Today?

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and there's a winter storm bearing down on us! The National Weather Service in Caribou has issued a Winter Storm Warning in effect from 12 Noon today until 9 AM on Thanksgiving

The Bangor area is supposed to get 8-12 inches of snow and it will be very windy! Gusts of wind are expected to be up to 45 miles per hour tonight after midnight.The Ellsworth and Bar Harbor area can expect 4-8 inches of snow with snow, sleet and freezing rain after midnight. Ice accumulation up to 1/4 inch and it will be windy as well, with gusts up to 45 miles per hour increasing to up to 55 miles per hour after midnight!

So, with the wind, ice, snow and sleet there's a strong chance of power outages! Emera Maine is ready

"Emera Maine’s Storm Response Team is keeping a close eye on yet another winter storm that’s expected to bring 7 – 11 inches of snow to Maine Wednesday night into Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. The utility is readying trucks, stock and appropriate personnel as we prepare for the possibility of power outages, especially in eastern and Downeast Maine which is expected to see the most snowfall.

“With leaves off the trees and winds expected to be moderate, we aren’t expecting this storm to impact the system the way the storm of November 2 did,” said Lisa Martin, Manager of Line & Meter Operations. “However, as was the case with the November 2 storm, the ground is still not frozen and large trees could topple over under the weight of significant snow. Combine those concerns with the fact that it is a holiday week, we feel it is important to make arrangements to ensure areas of our service territory most likely to be impacted have appropriate coverage.”

Field crews, customer service, dispatch, and other personnel have been placed on standby should outages occur.

As always customers are reminded to stay clear of fallen power lines and trees near or touching them. Locating account numbers in advance and programming the Customer Service Center phone number into cell phones can help speed up the reporting process. Anyone using alternate heat sources and generators is reminded to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines.

The Storm Response Team will continue to monitor the storm’s track and modify staffing plans as needed.

Customers can get the latest outage information and view our live outage map at emeramaine.com. Outages can be reported online or by calling our customer service center at 1-855-EMERA-11 (1-855-363-7211) Local: 207-973-2000."