It might be hard to believe that this 50° sunny Friday is coming ahead of a late season winter storm, but that’s reality.
This storm brings a very brief cold shot with it, too, but next week is trending to bring some nicer weather back to Maine.
NEWS CENTER Maine
Showers begin right around sunrise on Saturday as warm, moist air moves in on top of colder air locked in at the surface.
Most south of Route 2 will see just rain. North of Route 2, especially across the higher peaks, is where I expect some snow.
NEWS CENTER Maine
Colder air gets wrapped into the storm with a sharp transition between rain and snow.
At this point, the higher elevations of western Maine into the Allagash will be full-on snow.
The low-lying areas will still be dealing with a bit of mix.
NEWS CENTER Maine
As the low tracks through the Gulf of Maine, colder air keeps pouring in behind this storm.
There will gradually be a transition from rain to snow. At this point in time, the transition looks to take place mainly through the early afternoon hours.
NEWS CENTER Maine
By 4 p.m., the rain-snow line will be racing Downeast.
It might look dramatic at this point for most of the state, but I do not expect too much accumulation for most of central and coastal Maine. The reason for that is the surface temperatures. As colder air rushes in, there’s still a lag time between when the ground cools enough for snow to stick and when the flakes fall.
In other words, grassy surfaces will see snow accumulate before the roads.
Slushy accumulations are likely heading into the evening, and there will certainly be low visibility on the roads. Still, the road temperatures will not fall quickly enough to realize the same snow totals as the grass.
This is similar to what happened on Wednesday evening.
As colder and drier air wraps around the departing storm, snow showers end too.
Sunday stays cold and well below average before milder air slides back in starting Monday.
NEWS CENTER Maine
Unfortunately, I think a lot of this snow will be wet and heavy. That means shoveling will be a tough task.
On the bright side, accumulation on roads will not be as significant as grass. It also will all melt by the time Monday afternoon rolls around.
The highest elevations will see the most snow out of this storm. Skiers, rejoice!
At the coast, especially Downeast, the late transition to snow and lack of moisture will mean just a slushy coating or so.
Slick spots are possible heading into Sunday morning, but sunshine in the afternoon should clear roads right up.
NEWS CENTER Maine
Total rainfall from the storm still comes in right around an inch, give or take a little.
This could be enough for some localized high water issues. That’s especially true in areas that end up with storm drains blocked by snow.
The frozen ground will lead to some excess runoff, too.
The overall risk of river flooding and/or ice jams still remains quite low.
NEWS CENTER Maine
The wind aspect of this storm comes at two separate points in time.
As the surface low strengthens a bit, stronger wind gusts are expected on the backside of the storm.
Gusts will approach 30-40 mph Saturday evening and last for a few hours. The strongest gusts will be in and just downwind of the mountains.
A few outages are possible before wind gusts relax overnight into Sunday morning.
NEWS CENTER Maine
As the day warms up and the upper-level piece of this storm pivots through, wind gusts will pick up yet again.
The highest gusts are likely in the mountains, where they could exceed 50 mph.
Elsewhere, gusts will most likely end up between 35 and 45 mph.
A few outages will be possible again on Sunday. Any outages Saturday night may not be fixed on Sunday if the wind gusts stay strong enough.
Monday looks much, much nicer. Most of next week will be near or slightly above normal with a lot more sunshine mixed in.
I will be logged in all day Saturday to track the storm with you. Follow me on Twitter: @MikeSliferWX.
– Mike Slifer
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
