BY MEGHAN V. MALLOY

Staff Writer

Maine travelers who are driving to reunite with family for Thanksgiving need to be aware of winter weather conditions, officials from the National Weather Service warned Tuesday.

"There's going to be some unsettled weather," meteorologist Butch Roberts said. "I would recommend people drive really carefully over the holiday and weekend."

Though precipitation is expected to taper off for mostly cloudy skies today and on Thanksgiving, Roberts warned temperatures dropping into the upper 20s at night will present potentially icy conditions on the road in central Maine.

The National Weather Service is projecting a chance of rain or snow on Friday and through the weekend, Roberts said.

"Anywhere that is shaded, or bridges, those places are the ones that will refreeze at night," Roberts said. "It there's any water on the road, it'll just turn to ice again."

Roberts urges drivers to "approach curves with real caution, especially at night. You never know when you're on ice."

A Tuesday storm bringing a range of precipitation from heavy snow to rain pummeled New England, setting up conditions for an icy holiday.

By midday Tuesday, nearly a foot of snow had fallen in northern New Hampshire. Up to 7 inches of snow were reported in parts of western Maine and Vermont.

The National Weather Service said winds were expected to hit 35 mph to 65 mph during the day, with gusts up to 75 mph. Rainfall amounts were expected to reach 2 or 3 inches in places. A traffic fatality in central Maine was blamed on the conditions.

Ronald Herrick, 69, of Poland was killed when his car slid sideways in slush on Poland Center Road and crossed the center line into an oncoming pickup truck, the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Department said.

Thanksgiving is notorious for having a high number of traffic fatalities, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Eric Bolton, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, disputed several recent articles claiming his organization said Thanksgiving is the U.S. deadliest holiday, though he did acknowledge there are a significant number of vehicle accidents -- and fatalities -- around Thanksgiving because it is the nation's most heavily traveled holiday.

"Certainly, it is the most traveled holiday, and that means there are going to a lot of accidents," Bolton said. "There's a huge amount of people out there driving about 50 miles per hour, and that means more fatal accidents because of the sheer volume of traffic."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 636 vehicle fatalities over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend in 2006.

Bolton said while sheer volume is the culprit when it comes to the high number of fatalities, he said drivers need to remain conscientious of the weather. "The weather, especially somewhere like Maine, can compound the fatal error," Bolton said.

Patrick Moody, director of public affairs for AAA Northern New England said 11 percent of all Americans take to the roads for Thanksgiving travel and "inevitably there will be tragedy on our highways."

"The roads will be crowded so it is vitally important that everyone is securely buckled and that every precaution is taken to keep your family safe to enjoy the holiday," Moody added.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Meghan V. Malloy -- 623-3811, ext. 431

mmalloy@centralmaine.com