Over 14,000 households lost power Tuesday morning as strong, gusty winds made their way across the state.
Thousands of people in Somerset, Piscataquis and Cumberland counties were without power as of Tuesday morning, according to Central Maine Power. Forecasters warn that strong winds will continue until about 9 or 10 a.m. and could affect the morning commute.
Much of southern, central and western Maine was under a wind advisory Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. The alert said wind gusts could reach up to 50 mph, which could blow down trees and tree branches.
Over 5,000 outages were reported in Cumberland County. Piscataquis County saw more than 3,000 outages and Somerset County saw over 2,000, according to CMP.
Some communities in Hancock, Washington and Penobscot Counties could see winds between 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 60 mph, according to the weather service.
An advisory warns people to stay in lower levels of their home and avoid windows. Meteorologists expect scattered to widespread power outages in those areas.
CMP and Versant Power announced Monday that both companies have extra crews in anticipation of the high winds. CMP said its crews cannot go up in bucket trucks when wind gusts exceed 30 mph.
The high winds and outages followed a widespread flood watch Monday, as heavy rainfall and melting snow were expected to cause river flooding and runoff through Tuesday.
Meteorologists at the time warned that the rain would soften the thawing ground and make it easier for trees to fall when the gusty winds blew in that evening.
