The second day of the new year will be an active one. Snow is approaching rapidly and will make its presence known all day Saturday.

NEWS CENTER Maine

Everyone wakes up to snow on Saturday morning. By 6 a.m., there will already be a coating of snow (and therefore slick roads) for most Mainers.

NEWS CENTER Maine

NEWS CENTER Maine

As the morning progresses, mixing becomes an issue along the coastline.

The midcoast down to Kittery will see a quick change from snow to sleet and eventually rain. This cuts back on the snow forecast a bit, but slick roads will still be an issue for much of the morning.

Inland, moderate to heavy snow will fall. Snow rates could be near or over an inch an hour under heavy banding, especially just north of Lewiston and Augusta toward the Route 2 corridor.

If you ski and you’re reading this, enjoy!

NEWS CENTER Maine

By noon, the heaviest snow band shifts east. There will still be ongoing snow inland and mixing at the coast, but the focus of the forecast becomes more Bangor-centric. Some wicked heavy snow is possible Down East in the early afternoon.

NEWS CENTER Maine

The storm starts to wrap up from west to east.

Colder air gets wrapped around as the storm starts intensifying. It might be enough for some snow showers to make it to the coastline in the late afternoon.

These would be fairly light, though.

NEWS CENTER Maine

By 9 p.m. Saturday, the storm will be just about done. Colder and clearer conditions move in for Sunday.

NEWS CENTER Maine

That high pressure Sunday is perfect us to get our bearings. There’s another storm a-brewin’ for Monday, but the details are still pretty muddy. I’ll have a new blog over the weekend once I get a clearer idea on that one.

NEWS CENTER Maine

Back to Saturday’s storm, though.

Here are the forecast totals through Saturday evening.

NEWS CENTER Maine

My biggest area of uncertainty is between Sanford and Fryeburg.

The latest data suggest a colder solution. If that’s the case, this area of interior York county into southern Oxford county could be on the higher side of the forecast totals.

However, any sleet that advances further north and mixes in will cut back on the totals. I like where I have the forecast areas right now, but don’t be surprised if there is a last minute change in either direciton.

NEWS CENTER Maine

Augusta to Bangor and most of I-95 will end up with 6-10″ out of this one. Same thing goes for Route 2 and through the central highlands.

Bottom line impacts: travel will be slick most of the day Saturday and visibility will be reduced.

The good news, though, is that power outages are not much of a concern.

Follow me on Twitter (@MikeSliferWX) for more snow forecasting. Otherwise, I’ll be back this weekend with a look at Monday’s storm.