Portland residents can expect more snow this morning, followed by heavy rain, then more snow, making for what weather forecasters are describing as one messy day in coastal areas.

If you live north of Bridgton, Casco or Hollis, you might want to consider taking the day off to go skiing.

Those areas, including the Augusta region, are expected to get as much as a foot of snow today, said Tom Hawley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray.

“If the track of this storm changes by, say, 50 miles or more, then Portland could also get a foot of snow,” Hawley said.

Thursday night, the forecast was for Portland to get 5 or 6 inches of snow during the morning, then a change to rain between 1 and 2 p.m. Rain will fall for about three hours before snow returns.

The second wave of snow will bring 2 to 3 inches. Hawley said temperatures should remain above freezing during daylight hours, but tonight they will drop into the low teens.

“There could be a fair amount of street flooding,” Hawley said.

Central Maine Power Co. and the Maine Department of Transportation were tracking the storm Thursday.

“Our main concern will be the moisture content of the snow, especially in parts of interior Maine. Wet snow sticks to trees and limbs, and the weight can bring down our lines,” said John Carroll, a CMP spokesman.

The Department of Transportation, which is responsible for keeping 4,000 miles of roads clear of snow and ice, expects to put down a fair amount of salt during today’s storm.

A major storm like today’s will cost the state about $1 million, said Brian Burne, the department’s highway maintenance engineer.

“If you don’t have to be out today, don’t, and if you do, take it slow,” Burne said.

Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com