Southern Maine areas still recovering from an icy late March storm are taking a pounding again today, with nearly half of all Cumberland County residents without power and some roads in York County impassable.

And while the March 23 storm iced-over power lines and tree limbs, this time the danger is heavy, wet snow that is predicted to fall for several more hours.

“We’re asking people to stay off the roads if possible,” said York County EMA Deputy Director Megan Arsenault. “We’re getting multiple reports from first responders that live wires are on the roads. Many roads are impassable.”

In Cumberland County, just under half of Central Maine Power customers were without power on Thursday, a number similar to the March storm, said EMA Director Michael Durkin.

He said “911 calls are in the hundreds” and urged people to stay off the roads if they can.

Durkin warned that conditions could change in a few hours.

“Five to six hours from now it could be different,” he said. “The big thing is to have folks stay home unless they have to go out.”

Durkin also recommended following local towns on social media, checking the state’s website to see if warming centers are open and calling 211 for non-emergency help.

Thursday’s powerful spring nor’easter is just the latest severe storm to knock out power to thousands across the state during an unusual and unpredictable five months.

A major rain and windstorm Dec. 18 knocked out power to more than 400,000 CMP customers and nearly 100,000 Versant Power customers. Some of them waited days to get power back as line crews responded to tree limbs and other hazards, including severe flooding of several major rivers.

Businesses in downtown Hallowell and Gardiner suffered extensive damage as did buildings in Skowhegan and Bethel, where road washouts made travel difficult for days.

Then in January, coastal towns faced nearly back-to-back storms that came at high tide, surging water into buildings and homes and destroying vital fishing wharves and docks.

The December and January storms caused so much damage that the federal government declared them disasters, unlocking millions in federal funds to help cities, towns and residents recover.

And while the Thursday spring snowstorm has knocked out power to thousands once again, it is not expected to cause severe damage.

It’s also not likely to be one for the record books — at least not in Portland, said Stephen Baron, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Gray.

The daily snowfall record for April 4 is 6.4 inches set in 1915, he said. So far, the city’s gotten 4 inches and temperatures are rising.

“Maybe they could get two more?” he said. “But it’s going to be hard to accumulate.”