LEWISTON — Snow, rain and ice snarled traffic, canceled meetings and closed schools Monday ahead of a deep freeze overnight.

With freezing rain overnight Sunday turning to a more steady rain Monday morning, melting snow and runoff made small ponds of some roads, closing portions of Turner Street and leaving drivers wondering how much water is too much to cross.

Temperatures from Portland to the Lewiston-Auburn area reached as high as 50 degrees.

WGME reported that temperatures would drop to the low teens overnight and won’t get much higher Tuesday with wind chills below zero.

Gov. Paul LePage released a statement Monday afternoon urging motorists to stay off the roads while crews assess road conditions and get a grip on the ice and drainage situation.

“Crews have done a remarkable job freeing drainage ways to allow water to drain from roads and parking areas,” LePage said. “Despite these efforts, a dramatic drop in temperatures will likely cause numerous areas of black ice overnight and into the day tomorrow.

“Temperatures in many parts of Maine will be in the single digits to teens. At these temperatures, road sand and salt are less effective,” he said.

Throughout the state, freezing precipitation has been blamed for an array of accidents, fender benders and otherwise stuck motorists.

In Aroostook County’s Township 2 Range 9, a state trooper who was assisting with a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 95 lost his cruiser to a truck driver from Las Vegas.

Heming Guo, 49, was cited for imprudent speed when his 2013 Freightliner demolished Trooper Adam Bell’s cruiser near mile marker 236.

In Lewiston, a gas contractor reported on Facebook how his truck went into a low-speed slide downhill before becoming wedged in a snowbank. He reported being freed shortly afterward by a Lewiston plow truck.

Dylan Collins and Alexis Handy are teachers at a private school in Lewiston. Collins has a daily commute from Portland and Handy comes from Lewiston. Both have faced three consecutive “snow” days following an almost two-week winter break.

Collins said he thought he was going to be at work early and his preparation around the weather would pay off, but poor secondary roads and one flooded bridge put him behind schedule.

Collins said his usual 45-minute commute was extended by 30 minutes due to the weather. “The water was almost to the edge of my tire in some spots,” Collins said, using his hand to indicate nearly knee-deep water.

“You would go through certain sections where the snowbanks had melted all off — bad,” Collins said. He said it was “scary” going up and down hills in both cities and he saw a few drivers stuck in the standing water.

Collins, who usually takes Washington Avenue in Portland to I-95 to Auburn, found himself once again facing the water. Although he said the interstate was mostly clear, secondary roads in Auburn and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge in particular caused some issues.

Collins said he was stuck on the bridge for about 15 minutes when parts of it flooded.

Of the extended break for students, Collins joked, “The parents love us; they’re very happy right now.”

Collins’ colleague Alexis Handy has a much shorter commute but still faced delays and treacherous roads on her way to school.

“Normally, I’ll take Montello Street to work. Today, because of the roads, I decided to take a road that was a little more traveled,” she said.

According to Handy, the secondary streets were covered in ice and water was “pooling” in front of several storm drains. It was the pooling of water that concerned her the most.

“I feel like other drivers are kind of driving like this is the norm,” she said, “not slowing down and giving enough space in front of each car, going through the big pools of water. I know I’m OK to drive in this kind of weather because I’m more cautious, but I worry about others thinking they’re invincible,” she said.

Regarding the job Lewiston has done with the recent rash of foul weather, she said, “I think they’ve done a really good job. It’s hard to keep the whole city ice-free, so I guess I can take my side streets being a little messy.”

As for the school cancellations on the heels of a winter break, Handy said, “I am definitely ready for routine.” She said she misses her students and is ready to have them back.

Handy was supposed to attend the mayoral inauguration Monday evening at which her father, James Handy, was to be installed on the School Committee. The event has been rescheduled for Tuesday.

The inclement weather also caused the New Gloucester selectmen to cancel their meeting scheduled for Monday night.

Monday evening, Lewiston police were called to a Knox Street apartment for falling ice that smashed a man’s rear windscreen.

Gary Girard, who said he’s lived in the building and parked in the same spot for 28 years said he had never had anything like this happen.

Large chunks of ice surrounded the back of his car as Girard walked around it with a dustpan, trying to sweep up the glass.

According to Girard, he had already contacted his landlord, Gary Sweet, who is currently out of state.

“It is what it is,” Girard said. He spoke with friends from a local garage who offered to help secure and shore up the vehicle until a new windscreen can be installed.

“I’m just glad nobody got hit,” Girard said.

In Lewiston, Mary Monahan summed up her feelings about the recent spate of nasty weather. She said she would only leave her home if the power failed and fire chased her from it.

dmcintire@sunjournal.com