A cold and blustery day is on tap for Monday.Temperatures are not particularly cold right now, but the problem is, they are not going to budge during the day. An arctic front passed through the area overnight and is the reason you may have had to brush off some new snow from your car.

If you are going to be outside for an extended period of time you will want to bundle up as the wind chills will also be a factor today, as that gusty northwest wind makes it feel colder than it actually is.  Also don’t forget the sunglasses, the sun will be brilliant, but blinding bouncing off all the fresh snow.

I’ll be updating the snow forecast as it changes on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

Arctic cold

Tonight is going to be quite cold with lows ranging from the around zero south of Portland, to a few degrees below in the city and up to 30 or even 40 degrees below zero across the Allagash area of the state. The full moon will light up the landscape, especially the first part of the night.  The moon is called the “cold moon” this month; I don’t think you need me to explain why.

More snow

There will be another system affecting the area Tuesday afternoon and night.  A low pressure area will dive south from Canada and then reignite off our coast.  These types of systems can produce a few to several inches of snow and although not a big storm, this has the potential to really foul up the Tuesday afternoon commute.

Conflicting models

The situation we are facing Tuesday is a tough one for our computer models.  They notoriously don’t do well with these types of systems because the pieces of energy caught in the jet stream are difficult for them.   Two models are seeing two pieces of energy growing two areas of snow, one late Tuesday afternoon and a second, after a bit of a lull Tuesday night and through about 2AM Wednesday. The snow would be over by sunrise Wednesday morning.  Two other models are keeping the energy weaker and as one piece that moves through Tuesday evening and ends by midnight.  The discrepancy would mean several more inches of snow along the coast to the general light snowfall I’ll have a better handle of this later today.  The map below indicates my current thinking.  Since all the models area forecasting some snow, at least an inch is likely with up to 3 or 4 inches in spots.

 

Cold midweek, but milder finish

The deep freeze continues into Wednesday when highs will still stay in the upper 20s to near 30F.  The good news, temperatures will warm towards the melting point Thursday along the coast, but staying colder inland and up north.  This time of the year the sun is very weak and the only way we really melt snow quickly is with a mild rain.   Friday is even milder with highs nudging 40F for some real melting, at least on driveways, walkways and south facing areas.  For those of you already tired of this winter, you may have to wait a bit to see bare ground or take a trip to the Cape for some winter golf.

Weekend garden tip The video is from a few years back, but the tips on caring for a living Christmas tree are the same. Enjoy.

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