Snow is in the forecast for the Friday morning commute and this will be the first time we have seen an impact to a commute from snow this season. The initial snowfall of the season always creates a lot of noise. Although some of us have seen the grass turn white already (two weeks ago on a Sunday), this snow will be more widespread.

Today is a nice day and although it’s going to be a colder, there will be a lot sunshine, especially the first part of the day. Some clouds filter in during the afternoon and will tend to thicken overnight. It will be between 41-46F today and into the upper 20s and mid- 30s overnight. Late tonight some rain breaks out and changes to snow from west to east in the early morning pre-dawn hours.

The precipitation will end during the late morning and some sunshine should return for the balance of the afternoon. It’s going to be a very chilly Friday with highs in the upper 30s in hillier terrain west of the coastal plane to lower 40s in coastal York and Cumberland Counties.

Snow Totals
Snowfall will not be significant, but there could be two or even three inches in some of the higher terrain Kennebec County and also around the hilly areas well west of the coastline. Portland and surround communities will see an inch or two of snow. Some will stick on the roads.

When you are talking such small numbers the impact is more visual than anything else. If you see an inch of snow it will look like winter for sure. The roads are still warm, but in those areas where the snow comes down hard enough some slick spots will develop. In addition, when you add in the commute and the fact people tend to still drive like there isn’t any snow on the ground even when there is, there’s likely to be some issues on parts of the highways and secondary roads tomorrow morning.

I’ll be updating the forecast on Twitter @growingwisdom. You can follow me there and ask questions as well.

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The map below gives a general idea where the snow will fall. Notice east of Brunswick on the coast and islands I am not expecting snow to accumulate.

The next image shows some of the model data for the upcoming snow event. The NAM, which is not a good model at all is way out on a limb with snowfall but the other models are generally clustered in the coating to 2” range. This is why the forecast is what it is for tomorrow.

This next graphic shows how temperatures and snowfall will trend tomorrow through next week. Currently, our next system for Sunday night and Monday won’t bring any more snow. There is the chance of some rain Monday, but temperatures will be too warm for anything frozen.

Some even colder weather moves in for later next week with the next chance of snow or rain sometime next weekend. As I always say with forecasts that far in advance, take them with a several grains of salt as they can dramatically change.

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