Despite beautiful summers it’s impossible to forget what winters in Maine can be like. They’re harsh, cold and oftentimes extremely unpredictable. We’re used to it. In fact, it’s not uncommon for Mainers to ignore weather reports. We know that it’s impossible to predict what will happen until it…happens. But, we also know that we’ll probably still be going to work and school. We’re hearty like that! But, every so often we see weather that stops the state in its tracks. A perfect example? Who remembers the ice storm in 1998?

January 1998 will go down in the memories of many Mainers. It was the start of a new year and things were looking up. Well, no. They were looking a lot like Maine. Cold, windy and grey.
deenib1972 / Flickr
But to make things a little more authentic, the state endured one of the worst ice storms in history.
nebulant / Flicr
The storm was so massive, it affected thousands of miles from Eastern Ontario Canada to New England all the way down to New York.
nebulant / Flickr
The storm brought significant snow, but the real problem was the freezing rain and ice, which fell for more than 80 hours. Looking at a map, it’s almost unbelievable that so many people contended with these conditions for so long.
gsfc / Flickr
As with all Maine storms, once it passed all was calm. The blanket of snow made things pure and serene. But, little but little Mainers began going outside and seeing the true devastation this storm brought.
kasiya / Flickr
Neighborhood streets and entire highways were covered in a thick layer of pure ice.
binkley27 / Flickr
And the weight of the ice was too much for the trees which fell almost like dominoes.
nebulant / Flickr

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Lewiston, Augusta, Bridgeton and Rockland were hardest hit, but nobody in the state escape unscathed.
donshall / Flickr
In Southern Maine, those in Windham, Buxton, Cumberland, Gray, Falmouth and Gorham experienced some of the strongest winds and highest accumulation. Scores of residents here were housebound, constantly checking with neighbors to see if they’d been able to venture out to the store.
nebulant / Flikr
Power outages were widespread and lasted nearly a week. Schools were cancelled, which is virtually unheard of in Maine! Roadways were ruined.
paul_noble_images / Flickr
More than 130 shelters were managed by The Red Cross and other local organizations in the weeks after the storm.This helped nearly 4,000 people get back on their feet.
rrbhs99 / Flickr
By the time it was done, the storm cost Maine's electrical utility system more than $81 Million in damages.
pavdw / Flickr
But, little by little, life returned to normal.
By J. Jensenius - http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/noaa_products/noaa6195.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=494234
Were you in Maine for the storm? What do you remember most?
By CyclePat - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

This was certainly not the only storm to deal Maine a major blow. There was the massive 2015 blizzard that most of us still remember. And, of course, that 1969 nor’easter that hit much of the region. Relive them all through these articles and then hit the beach. It’s still summer!

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