Maine Memory Network

Ice Storm of ’98
The ice storm of 1998 was a natural disaster in Maine. It was a bad storm for everyone, it killed people and destroyed homes. It also led many people to be without power or heat. Many events happened to people during this time.
The ice storm happened because of high and low pressures coming together. Along with the changing pressures, snow, rain, and ice piled over the community. As more and more rain fell, the cold temperatures turned it into ice, making it heavier. The storm to the state of Maine by surprise. This caused the ice storm of 1998.
Seventeen million acres of forest were damaged, and five million became once again damaged. Estimates for natural resource losses exceeded one billion dollars. The ice storm left about 200,000 acres of the White Mountain National Forest destroyed. The White Mountains were covered by heavy ice, blocking 850 miles of trails and roads. All that ice from the storm destroyed power lines, which caused tons of outages. Homes also were destroyed. Causing people to become homeless and businesses to no longer exist. After the ice storm many people had to repair their homes due to damages. May jobs and stores that families worked and bought food didn’t get enough money and went out of business. When this happened it really hurt the community and they suffered financially. Thousands of dollars were spent to replace and repair power lines throughout the state of Maine.
During this time people learned to rely on one another for support and comfort. The unforgettable ice storm of 1998 brought many loses to the state of Maine. It was the worst ice storm in the history of Maine.
Written by George Berry, Tasha Glazier, Ethan Rolfe