Today will feature the presence of two distinct seasons across Maine and New Hampshire. Spring is in charge this morning, and temperatures are climbing into the mid 50’s along the coast. There’s a chance that some areas might touch 60 this morning. Winter will return to its rightful throne this afternoon as a strong cold front sweeps through. Temps won’t follow the typical “diurnal” trend today, due to the front. Temps this morning will be the warmest of the day, with a steady cooling trend occurring after the cold front sweeps through. Steady rain this morning will come to an end as the cold front moves through. By this afternoon, the sun will be shining over the coastal plain while the mountains see upslope snows. Winds will be another big story today behind the front. Wind gusts over 40 mph could cause some scattered power outages.
Today will feature warming temperatures and increasingly cloudy skies as a storm system intensifies to our west. High temperatures won’t differ too much across the area today, with mid 30’s expected in the north and upper 30’s in the south. Skies are mostly clear this morning, but that will change throughout the day as moisture arrives from the storm system out west. Precipitation will hold off until tonight, when rain will begin falling across the coast. Inland, freezing rain, sleet, and snow are expected as cold air will be able to hold on longer in the valleys. No significant icing is expected, but it only takes a trace for roads to become very slippery.
Yesterday’s rain and snow signaled the leading edge of some colder air that’s going to be working into the region today. That cold air has to get here somehow, and Northwest winds are ready to assist. Winds will be the big story today, with gusts of 30-40 mph+ possible in many areas. Temperatures won’t be able to rise much today due to the incoming cold, so look for current temperatures to not change much until the sun goes down, at which point we’ll drop into the 20’s across the area. Upslope snows will be in full gear today with northwesterly winds, but outside of the typically snowy areas, dry and clear conditions are expected today. Upslope accumulations of 3-6″ are forecast in the favored areas, with lighter amounts in the valleys.
Today will feature a mixed bag of precipitation as a cold front and coastal storm converge on our area. Precipitation associated with the cold front is already approaching Western New Hampshire while the coastal storm remains well to our south this morning. The storm will move rapidly northeast today, passing near Cape Cod by this evening. This storm will help to pull colder air south, resulting in a change from rain back to snow across the foothills. The mountains are likely to remain cold enough to see all snow, though accumulation will be heavily dependent on elevation. The foothills will start as snow, before transitioning to sleet and/or freezing rain. Not much accumulation is expected, perhaps a coating-1″, but the combination of various frozen precipitation types will result in slippery roads. The coastal plain may see a few snowflakes at the very beginning, but those will quickly melt away to raindrops as warm air will have little problem rushing in from the ocean.
Today will feature a lovely late fall day as high pressure builds in overhead. Look for pleasantly cool temperatures ranging from around freezing in the north to around 40 in the south. Skies will be mostly sunny, and no precipitation is expected. Enjoy the beautiful weather! Rain and mountain snow will return tomorrow.
Forecasterjack 