LAKES REGION – According to Mike Kistner, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service based in Gray, Tropical Storm Irene packed a wallop, but more in the form of wind than rain.

“York and Cumberland counties seemed like they got hit worst with wind, while the Carrabassett area got hit with rainfall,” he said Wednesday.

In the Lakes Region, weather observers reported a range of rainfall amounts, Kistner said. Raymond saw an unofficial 3.68 inches during Sunday’s storm, while a spotter in South Windham recorded 2.37 inches. Gorham saw 2.23 inches of rainfall, and Gray received 2.22 inches.

Other areas saw much more rain, however. The town of Phillips in Franklin County saw 6.34 inches while Andover in northern Oxford County saw 6.2 inches. Pinkham Notch, located at the base of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, received 7.33 inches, according to observers there.

Kistner said the winds from Irene were relatively consistent throughout the area, with gusts between 45 and 55 mph.

“It was a pretty big windfield, with winds spread out pretty evenly from the center of the storm,” Kistner explained.

Kistner said Irene changed from a tropical storm to an extra-tropical storm, with characteristics similar more to a nor’easter than a hurricane, as it entered New England. The main difference was that the winds were spread out more evenly than they were when Irene hit North Carolina, where winds were concentrated more around the eye of the storm.

“In a tropical storm, the farther you get out the winds get weaker,” Kistner said. “But when the storm arrived here in Maine, the wind really spread out as it made that extra-tropical transition. So they were getting good winds even up in (Aroostook) County as well.”

Jesse James, owner of Outlaw Pawn near the Windham-Raymond line
on Route 302, suffered several fallen trees, one of which, seen
above, fell onto power lines. James, who has just opened the
pawnshop, was outside when the tree toppled. “I was out watching
the wind and all of a sudden I saw it come down,” James recalled.
“It hit hard and when it hit the line there was a big boom, sounded
like a shotgun. It was pretty wild. Cars had to lock up their
brakes.” (Staff photo by John Balentine)