Region feels few effects from Sandy
By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
Aside from a brief power outage for about 750 Maine Public Service customers in Presque Isle, Extratropical Storm Sandy has had few effects on The County aside from gentle rains that are expected to continue throughout the week.
Formerly classified a hurricane, Extratropical Storm Sandy hit landfall over New Jersey; according to the Bangor Daily News, at least 13 people were reported killed in the United States by the storm.
“This was a very unique storm, a very strong storm,” said Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Caribou Noelle Runyan.
She explained that Sandy transitioned from tropical, which typically has a very compact wind structure, to extra tropical, “Which has much more far-reaching wind effects.”
“Those [wind effects] did affect Maine, predominantly costal Maine,” Runyan added.
For northern Maine, the combination of being a long distance away from Sandy’s New Jersey landfall and the Maine coast meant less impact from the storm.
Power outages did occur for 746 Maine Public Service customers in Presque Isle on Monday morning after a tree fell down behind The Aroostook Medical Center, taking some primary power lines and a conductor to the ground with it.
According to Director of Public Information for Maine Public Service Virginia Joles, a crew responded to the scene at 4:11 a.m.
“They swiftly isolated the effective area and 47 minutes later, 736 customers were restored power,” Joles said on Tuesday afternoon.
The ten remaining customers, located directly about the area where the tree had fallen, regained power at 6:33 a.m. after the tree was removed and the wires were replaced.
Joles said that the anticipated cause of the felled tree was winds.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the center of the storm loomed over Pennsylvania and was slated to move slowly northwest and then north over yesterday and for today. As the week progresses, Sandy is expected to eventually move toward the Northeast accompanied by light precipitation.
“Northern Maine will be on the edge of the heaviest rainfall,” Runyan said, adding that not much more than an inch of rain is anticipated for the region throughout the week.
For tonight’s trick-or-treaters, Runyan anticipates that the evening will be on the mild side.
“Because this air mass is coming from over the ocean and is tropical in origin, temperatures are expected to be in the mid- and upper-50s,” she explained, adding that scattered showers are also a possibility.
While the region had mostly uneventful weather to contend with, increased dialogue regarding emergency preparedness serves as a good reminder for all.
“It’s always good to prepare for storms like this,” Runyan expressed. “It’s well in advance of these storms that you should take the time to plan for emergencies, to make sure you’re ready and to know what you should do just in case — or when, because sometimes things like this will happen in northern Maine.”
Director of the Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency Vern Ouellette also expressed the need for emergency preparedness.
“When we do presentations to groups, we make sure that they understand that for the first 72 hours, they’re on their own,” Ouellette explained, describing the time it can take for emergency management personnel to reach those in need.
“We encourage everyone to have a ‘Go Bag’ — having stuff ready in advance with a flashlight, water, snacks and medication, if they need it,” he added.
A wealth of information on preparing for emergency situations is available by visiting www.aroostookema.com or visiting ready.gov.
At the Aroostook EMA site, interested individuals can also sign up to receive warnings via text messages or e-mail.
“There’s a variety of things they can sign up for,” Ouellette added.
