Governor Janet T. Mills(D) and the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) are urging Maine residents to be prepared in advance of Hurricane Lee potentially making landfall in Maine at the end of the week according to a press release issued by her office at noon today.

MEMA is closely monitoring the path of Hurricane Lee and is coordinating with State public safety and transportation officials, Federal and local emergency management officials and Maine’s utilities in advance of the storm.  MEMA has placed the Emergency Operations Center on enhanced monitoring status.

The National Weather Service offices in Caribou and Gray, in coordination with the National Hurricane Center, report that Maine will experience impacts from Lee beginning Friday night into Saturday am due to a westward shift in the storm track and widening storm radius.  The storm is predicted to slowly weaken to a Category One storm and eventually downgrade to a typical storm as it makes landfall.  Tropical storm force winds, coastal flooding and high surf and riverine flooding are all possible impocts from the storm.

Central Maine Power (CMP) is also raising concerns about the health of Maine trees followig the heavy rainfall received this summer and the impacts that has led to weakened or rotted root systems.  CMP has said that dependig on Hurricane Lee’s track and the strength of storm winds, Maine could see worsened impacts to the power grid because of tree falls or losing limbs.

“We are tracking the path of the storm and coordinating wth Federal and local partners to prepare for its arrival,” said Governor Janet Mills.  “We urge Maine people to exercise caution and to take common-sense steps to ensure they have all they need to stay safe as the storm draws close moving into the weekend.”

Some of MEMA’s recommendtions include:  check that your emergency kit includes supplies needed for several days without power; get the latest alerts and warmings on your smartphone by downloading the free app, a National Weather Service app; charge ell phones and other electronic deices and bring in all outdoor furniture, decorations, garage cans and anything that is not tied down.