Most of you have heard about the storm for midweek and it’s still on track.  Before it gets here we have a couple of mainly dry days with a mild one for tomorrow.

Today will see any clouds clear away and there will be a mix of sunshine and clouds. Highs will surpass freezing in much of southern Maine and make it into the upper 20s in ski country.

Overnight a weak system passes through the region. This will bring a period of snow showers, mostly after midnight. The snow will also end around or even before dawn Tuesday. Accumulation will be light with a coating to an inch or two possible. An isolated 3-inch total could show up in the hillier terrain, but this isn’t a big deal. 

It will clear Tuesday and temperatures will rebound well into the 40s. Tomorrow afternoon will be so nice, you might think it’s too warm to snow and you would be correct.  However, there’s a lot of very cold air lurking in Canada and this is going to be pulled southward into our upcoming storm. How much of that cold air and how quickly the cold air makes it to the coastline will be critical in determining how much snow areas from York to Portland receive. Inland, the cold air will be present through much of the storm and this is looking like a significant snowfall for those areas as well as ski country.

Some places in southern and central Maine are going to see a foot of snow, but because of the warm air at the start of the storm, this is most likely going to be just inland away from the coast. That written, the storm is still just entering the California region and the energy which will react with this storm is now coming down from the top of the planet.  The exact track of the storm up the coast will determine the final amounts of snow and rain and who ends up with the most accumulation.

I’ll update my thoughts on the storm on Twitter @growingwisdom. Follow @growingwisdom

The Wednesday morning commute will be dry, but the evening commute looks potentially wet and white depending on where you are.  Thursday morning is the focus for the largest issues. The storm will be beginning to wind down, but I expect many school closings in parts of the area.

A winter storm watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for the potential of the significant amounts of snow. Notice on the map that coastal areas of York and Cumberland counties are not involved with the watch right now, however, if new information later today shows the storm trending colder, these areas will likely be placed under a watch as well. My point is things can still change quite a bit on this storm.

It turns arctic cold again Thursday night and Friday, but this blast of cold air won’t last as long as most of the previous outbreaks. By the weekend, highs will again turn seasonable with 40s not out of the question for Saturday.

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