This morning we find an intense low pressure system southeast of Nantucket. This storm is bringing a variety of weather to southern Maine with wind, rain and snow all occurring this morning. The center of the storm is located far enough away so that the bulk of the precipitation is staying off the coast and will impact Downeast Maine the most.

There is a sharp line between no precipitation and actual precipitation this morning. This pattern will remain in place for the rest of the morning. As I write this the rain and snow is located along the southern Maine coast and then penetrates inland north of Portland. The Jetport has seen a few flakes and there will likely still be a period of wet snow this morning and early afternoon.

Accumulation of snow will have a wide range not only from southern Maine to northern parts of the state, but even in your own yard. We haven’t even had a freeze yet in Portland and the ground is still pretty warm. Even when the snow falls it will have a hard time sticking on the ground and the roads. Snow tends to accumulate on car tops, picnic benches and grassy surfaces first. These areas have the best chance of seeing any snowfall.

From the Mid-Coast of Maine northward, including Penobscot Bay, the snow will be intense this afternoon and accumulations will be much higher. There is a winter storm warning posted for these areas and if you are planning to travel this morning or afternoon, you might want to postpone it until the heaviest part of the storm is over early this evening. It’s not impossible parts of eastern Maine actually see blizzard-like conditions for a period later this morning or early afternoon when the snow and wind are most intense.

Windchill is also going to be a factor later today and overnight. Check out the maps below. Some places could feel like it’s in the teens this evening.

The image below shows how much snow is expected. In Portland a slushy inch or two is most likely. Of course you could see slightly more or less depending on your exact location. I’d love to hear from you on Twitter @growingwisdom. You can tweet me an observation or ask me a question.

Follow @growingwisdom


It’s going to turn cold tonight and tomorrow morning will bring the first freeze to any areas that have yet to see freezing conditions. This means the new record for the latest first freeze of the season in Portland will now be November 3rd or 2nd if it happens before midnight. This is week later than the previous record, pretty amazing.

Highs tomorrow get back into the 40s and the snow will melt. Even in areas that see a lot of snow, the snow will disappear over the next week or so. It would be almost impossible for us to see permanent winter snow cover this time of the year.

Another storm brings more rain for the Thursday-Friday time period, but it should clear out for next weekend along with cooler temperatures. The chart below will show you temperature and precipitation trends through the upcoming weekend.

Copy the Story Link