BRUNSWICK

Snow from today’s nor’easter has begun falling in the Midcoast.

Brunswick schools have been cancelled, “due to the impending blizzard,” according to a notice on the school district’s website. A planning board meeting scheduled for tonight has been postponed.

Classes have been cancelled for all RSU 1 schools, and RSU 1 adult education classes are cancelled for the evening.

MSAD 75 schools are closed today, as are Regional School Unit 5 schools. 

The town of Brunswick has also issued a parking ban starting at 9 p.m. tonight through 7 a.m. Wednesday for all public streets and municipal lots.

Brunswick Public Works Director John Foster said the department is following the weather forecast closely, adding blizzard conditions have not set in yet.

“We are doing our best to keep roads clear. We have heard of some accidents, so I would definitely advise people to stay off the roads,” Foster said. 

Foster said the main concern now is that the snow might switch over to a coastal mix and with freezing rain, which is more problematic to deal with. 

There is a cost to storm clean up and keeping the town’s 144 miles of road safe. The town is over budget on its purchase of salt and sand and its hired help for plowing and snow hauling. The department hasn’t overrun its overtime budget yet.

The public works department will soon be bringing in the hired help to clean out from this storm. Crews will have snow to haul and need some extra help, Foster said.

Until this storm is over, he won’t know how diminished the remaining stock of sand and salt will be, with the forecast of more snow this weekend looming.

“We’re going to get a lot of snow,” said Brunswick Fire Chief Ken Brillant Tuesday afternoon. He also worries about power outages.

Weather forecasts have talked about the possibility of some wet, heavier snow and high winds before the storm is done, he said,  “and I hope that doesn’t lead to downed power lines.”

Central Maine Power Co., reported at around 3 p.m. it was getting the first reports of power outages, most which were in York County. By 3 a.m. Wednesday there were more than 30,000 CMP customers without power around the state, and most were still in York County. Harpswell had 92 customers with no power, and Bath had 14 customers without power.

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, Brunswick Fire Department had responded to two crashes and the police department to some additional crashes, but none involving injury.

Brunswick Police Cmdr. Mark Waltz said the many closures were helping keep people off the roads.

As snow started to quickly accumulate and high winds developed Tuesday afternoon, cars began sliding off the road or getting stuck on roadways as plow crews struggled to keep roads passable. Maine State Police warned motorists to avoid Interstate 295 in the Freeport and Topsham area where plows were having a difficult time keeping up. Although the National Weather Service announced a break in the snow shortly after 8 p.m., it warned the wind would still be howling and blowing snow around.

Topsham has a parking ban in effect from 9 a.m. Tuesday until 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Winter Parking Ban for Bath is still in effect, meaning that cars can not park on the streets for more than half an hour from midnight to 6 a.m. City Hall will be closing at noon.

The town of Richmond has announced a parking ban is in place from 2 p.m. Tuesday until 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Many municipal offices are closing early or already closed due to the storm. Brunswick Town Office closed at 1 p.m., Bowdoinham, Bath and Freeport municipal offices closed at noon and Topsham’s municipal building and solid waste facility closed at 12:30 p.m.  Lisbon and Richmond town offices closed at 2 p.m.

Bath Iron Works announced that it will be ending its first shift at 11:30, and the 2nd and 3rd shifts for Tuesday have been cancelled–except for essential personnel and snow removal personnel.

People Plus in Brunswick has closed for the day, and is asking that residents check in on their neighbors.

The Metro bus service that includes the Portland to Freeport BREEZ service will shut down at noon today.

“Winds are forecast to be at blizzard conditions with accumulations anticipated to be 12-20 inches,” according to a statement from Metro. “We feel it’s necessary to suspend service to protect the safety of the public and employees as well as encourage residents to remain at home. METRO is planning to resume service on Wednesday, March 15.”

The National Weather Service in Gray has issued a blizzard warning for the area, and this morning is forecasting 18 to 20 inches of heavy snow.

According to the NWS: “A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely.”

The NWS warns this could lead to whiteout conditions making travel extremely dangerous.

The worst of it will come this afternoon and this evening, according to the NWS.

“Snow will become heavy this afternoon with snowfall rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour possible and blizzard conditions along the coast,” the NWS reports this morning. “The snow may mix with sleet at times late today and early this evening. The storm will come to an end overnight into early Wednesday morning.”

With the severe weather, the American Red Cross encourages eligible blood and platelet donors to make appointments to restock the blood supply. According to a statement: “During times of inclement weather, road conditions and power outages often result in the cancellation of blood drives and a shortfall of blood and platelet donations. On average, the Red Cross must collect about 14,000 pints of blood every day for patients at approximately 2,600 hospitals and transfusion centers across the country.

“The need for blood does not get a snow day,” said Mary Brant, external communications manager of the Northern New England Blood Services Region, in the statement. “It is the blood products already on the shelves that help save lives when severe weather hits.”

Eligible donors are asked to make an appointment to give blood or platelets when it is safe to do so. To schedule an appointment to donate, use the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

Most Tuesday night meetings have been canceled due to the storm.

These include a Brunswick Planning Board meeting, a Lisbon Town Council special meeting (now March 16), a Freeport Town Council workshop and a Richmond Planning Board meeting.

This is a developing story and will be updated.