LEWISTON — It’s a matter of perspective. Thursday’s storm was either frightful or delightful, depending on who you are and what you were doing.

“It’s dumping buckets and the storm is far from over!” declared the Sunday River website Thursday afternoon. “Mother Nature decided to open the throttle and pummel us with snow, putting a smile on many faces.”

Whether or not you were calling it Winter Storm Euclid, like the Weather Channel, this was Maine’s first major snow wallop of the season. This early in winter, snow is still novel. We haven’t had time to get sick of it yet.

“It’s always beautiful,” said Wayne Heyward of Sabattus, “the first time.”

If you were one of the thousands who had to shovel out and drive to work, however, it might have been difficult to muster much by way of enthusiasm.

Late Thursday night, police and rescue crews went to the Maine Turnpike after several cars were reported off the road between the New Gloucester toll and the Auburn exit. Details were scant following the 10 p.m. wreck, but highway officials were advising motorists to expect delays.

The roads were sloppy just about everywhere. On the turnpike, the speed limit was dropped to 45 mph. It snowed all morning, all afternoon and into the night.

By nightfall, a foot had fallen in some areas, while 7 inches were recorded in most cities and towns. Along with the snow was wind, the gusty kind that either blew snow into your face or down the back of your neck.

Cars and trucks slid into ditches, into power poles and into each other. Between fender benders and illegally parked cars, tow drivers had plenty to do. 

In Lewiston, more than 50 cars had been hooked and towed away by 5 p.m. They didn’t want to do it, police said. They had announced parking bans early in hopes that most people would find alternative spots for their vehicles.

“We try not to tow vehicles unless they’re obstructing plowing operations,” Lewiston police Sgt. Joe Bradeen said.

During daylight, anyway. In the early part of the day, police like to give the benefit of the doubt to people who are trying to get to work. After 5:30 p.m., though, the Public Works plows were planning a major assault on snowy streets and those streets had to be clear.

“That is when we’ll start towing in earnest,” Bradeen said.

According to Lewiston police Sgt. James Theiss, there were 10 accidents throughout the day, or roughly one an hour. 

“Nothing major,” Theiss said. If there were injuries, he said, they were minor.

It was the same just about everywhere, with minor crashes and cars off roads. If you weren’t driving to work or playing on the snow-covered hills, you were probably inside, staying dry and warm. Police appreciated that.

“Traffic has been light most of the day,” Bradeen said. “People are staying off the roads for the most part. Our regular calls for service have been moderate, or less than moderate. People appear to be hibernating due to the storm. That helps us immensely.”

By Central Maine Power standards, the storm could have been worse. Had the snow been wetter and heavier, wires would have fallen and outages would have been widespread. As it turned out, fewer than 300 CMP customers were without power by Thursday evening.

State, county and municipal offices closed early. So did many businesses, if they bothered to open at all. Schools didn’t have to cancel classes because they were closed already for vacation. As Maine weather goes, it was a routine storm, and by the supper hour most people were still in good moods. 

“It’s snowing, it’s blowing, it’s white and it’s beautiful,” Naomi LaRochelle Williams Pray of Mechanic Falls wrote on Facebook.

Just wait, said the National Weather Service, as they predicted that most areas would see more than a foot by the time the nor’easter had blown itself out. And the wind, with gusts of up to 45 mph, was expected to blow into the night, creating drifts that might prove troublesome come Friday morning.

By 9 p.m., snow was still falling and winds were still gusting. Not that any of that darkened the spirits of the folks at Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Resort.

Thanks to 10 inches of new snow on Thursday and more than 4 feet since Dec. 16, Sugarloaf opened its new Eastern Territory glades on Burnt Mountain, giving the resort more than 1,000 open acres of terrain. The feat marks the first time in history that an eastern ski resort has hit the 1,000-acre mark, resort officials said.

“Being the first resort in New England to ever offer 1,000 ski-able acres is a great milestone for us,” Sugarloaf Vice President of Sales and Marketing Brad Larsen said. “When we launched our Sugarloaf 2020 expansion plan three years ago, we became the largest ski area east of the Rocky Mountains, and today put a big exclamation point on that title.”

Whatever your opinion, with a week’s worth of media hype, nobody can say they never saw the storm coming. And when you get right down to it, does anyone who lives in New England have a right to complain?

Anissa Roberts didn’t think so.

“My honest opinion is that we know every spring through fall that the snow is coming, yet a vast majority want to do nothing but bitch about it once it arrives,” said Roberts, who moved from Lewiston to the even snowier town of Newport. “No one is forcing you to live in Maine. If you don’t like the snow and you don’t like the cold, then move to another climate.

“Personally, I have chosen to stay in Maine because I like the snow,” Roberts said. “I think it’s pretty.”

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Scarborough: 12

Andover: 9

Eustis: 8.5

Bethel: 7

Lewiston: 7.5

Poland: 6.5

Winthrop: 5.8

Source: National Weather Service, Gray