YORK COUNTY, MAINE - Rain and wind will impact all of York County – inland to the coast, likely starting sometime Friday night and continue Saturday, York County Emergency Management officials say.
“Lee will have a significant impact,” on York County, said YCEMA Deputy Director Megan Arsenault.
Dangerous surf, large waves and rip currents are expected for coastal York County in the lead-up and during the storm. Inland, wind and rain will be the culprit.
Lee is forecast as a tropical storm for York County and southern Maine and the National Weather Service had issued a watch as of late Thursday morning. A hurricane watch remained in effect for coastal regions east of Portland all the way downeast to Washington County.
York County EMA is preparing for the storm and is urging residents to do so too. YCEMA Director Art Cleaves said residents should prepare for power outages – folks should have cash on hand, gas up their vehicles, charge mobile phones, and have 72 hours’ worth of water, food for the family including their pets, and items like a flashlight and fresh batteries at the ready. He urged families to plan ahead for a meet up location and how to get there if an emergency were to separate family members.
Homeowners may also want to stow their lawn furniture or other light items inside – if left outside they could be picked up by the wind and cause damage.
“We urge families not to be complacent,” Cleaves said.
Weather forecasters say that with frequent rains over the summer, the ground is saturated which could cause problems like road and street flooding, knock down tree limbs and more.
YCEMA has been having daily conversations with local EMA directors in all the county’s 29 municipalities, ahead of the tropical storm. The agency’s emergency operations center will be staffed on Saturday, where volunteers are the communication bridge between the municipalities and Central Maine Power’s Alfred division which covers York County.
Volunteers receive and prioritize damage reports from the towns and cities on impacts to the power grid – situations like live power lines in the roadway, or if downed tree limbs or flooded roads are an issue.
For information updates throughout the storm, go to the York County Emergency Management Agency Facebook page, to X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram @YorkCountyEMA. Further information is available at the Maine Emergency Management Agency at: https://www.maine.gov/mema/response-recovery/mass-care.
YCEMA Director Art Cleaves and YCEMA Deputy Director Megan Arsenault