Anyone personally experienced a hurrricane in Maine?

[BacktoNE]

I remember Hurricane Gloria and Bob. We played games by candlelight. It was fun.

The ice storm of 1998, not so much fun. Although my house was only without power for 3 days, and I was in a fully operational hotel out-of-town, so I really didn't experience any discomfort or inconvenience. I had a co-worker who lived down a fireroad on a lake. 12 days without electricity. 12 days without a blow dryer did not make her a happy girl at all!

A generator really is a good thing to have in Maine. You may not use it very often, but having one when you do need it will make you much happier.

[Acadianlion]

I have lived in Maine full time since 1977. I have seen snow storms, hurricanes, one gigantic ice storm, and felt a bunch of earthquakes. When we had hurricanes it was windy and rained a lot. When we had major snowstorms, it sometimes got very, very cold, snowed very hard and was very windy. The ice storm was very exciting because it was so different. During the ice storm I drove to my commercial buildings in Blue Hill at least twice a day carrying rocksalt in the back of my station wagon so I could try to keep the public walkways free of the ice. It never occurred to me that it might be too dangerous to drive....it wasn't particularly slippery since the road crews did such a good job between Ellsworth and Blue Hill.

The earthquakes were just bumps and for several years I didn't even realize that they were earthquakes. Maine sits on a gigantic geological fault line, so we do get some seismic acvitity.

In the end, it is Maine, and we get weather, and all the other stuff. Most of the time I don't pay attention to the weather report, and only really know that there is going to be a storm by going into the grocery store. When it is jammed, that means that the grocery chain has paid off the weather man to announce the "storm of the century" to pump up the sale of groceries. Then we get some rain, wind or maybe snow.

[aslanleon]

I lived in Maine for thirty years, about half in the very cold upcountry and half on the very foggy coast. I enjoyed the weather, but in the end, my arthritis trumped me. I spent Hurricane Bob on Warren Island in Penobscot Bay-- What an experience! We had a cold spell in 1980 when the temperatures went to -46 (not wind chill, real temperature) and spent two weeks without electricity during the big coastal ice storm (2000 I think). In Maine, we were always ready for the weather. In winter, nothing surprised us. So why did I leave? I'm a pastor, and did a fair number of funerals every year for older people who slipped on the ice, broke their hip, and then developed pneumonia and died. Given my age, my arthritis, and my clumsiness, it was only a matter of time. I live in Arizona now.

[moughie]

Originally Posted by Acadianlion

In the end, it is Maine, and we get weather, and all the other stuff. Most of the time I don't pay attention to the weather report, and only really know that there is going to be a storm by going into the grocery store. When it is jammed, that means that the grocery chain has paid off the weather man to announce the "storm of the century" to pump up the sale of groceries. Then we get some rain, wind or maybe snow.

Well put! Definitely the grocery store activity is an excellent indicator. So great you take it all in stride without panic

will never forget our first earthquake in Maine. Probably in '85 or '86 and centered in Chicoutimi, Quebec. The beverage in our glasses rattled while we sat in the living room. It was most odd- though not frightening.

[zoe456]

Hurricane Bob (which was the first Hurricane I experienced in Maine) wasn't that much of a big deal; I lived with my parents at the time about 10 miles inland in Southern Maine). Some trees were blown down but not too bad.

(**Heh: Don't even begin to ask me about my time spent in Ohio with the various Tornado Warnings!)

Frankly, the "Storm of the Century" (depends on who you speak with in 1993 on the naming of said storm) was quite interesting; I think we got close to 36 inches in about 24 hours or so which is pretty amazing for Southern Maine (Yarmouth).

There was a storm sometime in between 1993 and 1998 that dumped a TON of rain in October (96,97,98 - can't exactly remember the year) that in some places registered 16 + inches in a very short time span in places like Camp Ellis (Saco). I believe this was caused by a hurricane that was later classified as "extratropical" but nonetheless causes major impacts to our region.

For the Ice Storm of 1998 - again, impacting where I live in Yarmouth, we sought refuge in a hotel in Portsmouth, NH (approximately 60 miles south). The funniest thing was watching WCSH-6 TV's "Storm Center" and hearing their over the top dramatic music, with reporters wearing their sweaters and reporting the abysmal conditions in northern New England. There must have been about 80 "refugees" from the Portland area in the hotel bar watching the broadcast on the big-screen TV. We spent 3 days there while we were calling our answering machine to see if it picked up (meaning we had juice back home). Too funny.

Next time, we're hopping on the next Southwest flight from Manchester, N.H. to Las Vegas!