If you watched the temperatures Monday or had to work outside, you likely noticed them falling fairly quickly in the afternoon as the arctic air moved across the region. This isn’t the coldest piece of air we’ll experience this week, as we will have to wait until Wednesday night and Thursday morning for that to arrive.

Thursday lows.

This morning temperatures are in the single numbers across southern Maine, but at or below zero from roughly Waterville to points north and west. There are wind chill advisories and warnings posted as well for parts of the central and northern areas.

cold maine

The dominant jet stream is currently the polar jet. This means our weather is coming from the Polar Regions where it is dry and cold. This pattern is similar to January of 2003, when we saw a lot of cold and not a lot of snow. That year just about 12 inches of snow fell in Portland in January, most of it in one storm on the 4th. The bigger news was the temperature which was 6 degrees below average. This allowed the cold to penetrate the ground very deep.

That winter, we saw several pipes bursting from the prolonged cold. There was also quite a bit of damage to some plants in people’s yards that winter. The next 10 days look very cold and I would not be surprised if we started seeing some problems similar 2003. If you have issues with pipes freezing in your house it’s a good idea to leave closets and cabinets open if there are pipes behind those walls. Closed spaces will stay very cold and are often the source of pipes bursting. Remember, running water won’t freeze so you can also leave the water dripping if you have seen issues in the past.

Still No Big Snow
As long as the flow of air is coming from central Canada it’s difficult for us to see any big coastal storms. There are a couple of chances for some small amounts of snow in the next 10 days, but nothing big. Today a weak storm will pass south of Maine bringing afternoon clouds, but little or no snow. Some light snow or flurries will pass through the Wednesday afternoon as another blast of arctic air moves in. I don’t see any really accumulation from this system. Friday could bring some more light snow or flurries.

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If the squalls do develop and show up the area during the evening commute, there could be some slick spots on the highways.

The Coldest Of The Cold
When you get up Thursday morning it’s going to be very cold with many of you seeing temperature readings below zero. Even along the coast it will be just under zero. If there was more snow on the ground we could be as cold as 10 or 15 below in places, but the lack of deep snow help keep it from reaching the coldest potential temperatures.

The moderates into the weekend and early next week, but it’s not going to be mild. There is a good chance all of Maine stays below freezing for the next 10 days and although we come close to 30 by Monday, I think we go back into the cold again for several more days. All this dry cold air will keep storms from reaching Maine and snow lovers will have to wait for a pattern change for any chance of a significant snow event.

I think at this point we will have to wait until the second half of the month or February before we see any big storms. I’m not forecasting any just yet, but the likelihood something happens before is small.


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