Mainers can expect the current, frigid weather pattern to stick around at least through Tuesday, and a snowstorm is on the horizon for Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

The lowest temperature recorded Saturday in Maine was minus 30 degrees in Estcourt Station in Aroostook County, according to meteorologist Michael Cempa of the weather service’s office in Gray. The low in Portland was minus 13 degrees, he said, slightly warmer than the record low for Dec. 30 of minus 16 degrees in 1963.

The high in Portland on Saturday was 11 degrees, which Cempa said was relatively balmy for the current weather system. But things are going to get worse before they get better, he said.

“Today was probably the warmest day for the next few,” he said about Saturday.

Cempa said a “reinforcing shot of cold air” was expected to enter the state late Saturday into Sunday. He expects a low of minus 5 to zero degrees Sunday in Portland, and a high of 9 or 10 degrees. On Monday, even lower temperatures will ring in the new year, with an expected low of minus 10 degrees in Portland and a high of about 8 degrees, Cempa said.

Temperatures are expected to trend upward Wednesday, he said, and it’s possible that Portland could see high temperatures in the 20s on Wednesday and Thursday.

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However, the weather service is tracking a storm system that could bring a significant amount of snowfall Thursday or Thursday night, Cempa said. As of Saturday night, the chance of snowfall Thursday in Portland was about 50 percent.

“It depends on its track,” Cempa said. “If it tracks farther to the east, we’ll get less.”

J. Craig Anderson can be contacted at 791-6390 or at:

canderson@pressherald.com

Twitter: jcraiganderson


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