Hello everyone!

With the remnants of Zeta now racing off into the open Atlantic, we’ll be dealing with the fringes of the winter storm trailing the hurricane remnants this morning. That storm is moving east-northeast away from the Delmarva as I write this around 5 AM. That means we’re on the northern edge of the system so heavy precipitation (rain or snow) is not expected. We do have some light radar returns to keep an eye on, mostly over southern and western NH. That’s where the best odds of precip will be this morning.

This map shows forecast precipitation and type at 8 AM. Southern NH should be seeing fairly steady snow at this point while flurries attempt to push north into central NH and far southwestern ME. In spots that do see an hour or two of snow, a coating to maybe 1″ of accumulation is possible. For the rest of us, a stray flake here or there is all we’ll get.

By noon, the storm will be pulling away and snow will be tapering off even over southern NH. That said, northeast winds will keep pulling cold air into the region so even as a few breaks of sun develop in the wake of the storm this afternoon, temps won’t be able to rise much today. Look for highs ranging from around 30 in the mountains to around 40 right along the coast.

We can finally welcome the sun back tomorrow as high pressure passes overhead.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Our stretch of unsettled weather will continue today as the remnants of Hurricane Zeta race into the Mid-Atlantic and join forces with a winter storm over Texas.

I don’t often share satellite imagery on the blog here but this is just too spectacular to neglect. Zeta is visible racing east-northeast through the Carolinas ahead of the winter storm back over TX/OK. Note that the system as a whole is elongated along an east-west axis. This is key to our forecast for tonight/tomorrow.

Radar imagery shows rain from this storm falling across PA/NJ and just starting to move into NY/CT. Because the storm is so elongated, northward progress of the rain shield will be relatively slow. With that in mind, I’m not expecting rain to start falling in southwestern NH until around noon. Rain will then slowly march northeast, arriving in Maine around 2-4 PM. The mountains and southern York County are likely to see precip first before the rain shield fills in for the foothills and the rest of the coastal plain.

Because clouds (and some patchy fog) have already moved in ahead of the storm, I’m not expecting temps to rise a whole lot today. With current readings in the mid-30s, this naturally raises the question of how exactly our precipitation will make it to the ground.

High resolution model forecasts show precipitation starting off as rain except for the very highest mountains (above 3,000 feet). However, note the north winds developing around this time which will begin to push colder air into the region. As the sun sets, cooling will accelerate and snow levels will begin to fall.

By early tomorrow morning, snow will be falling all the way to the coastline but precipitation will be sagging off to the south again (remember our east-west elongated system makes it hard to push precip north).

This will overall keep snowfall accumulations to under an inch or two outside perhaps some of the higher hills/mountains in NH (particularly SW NH).

High temps today will range from around 32 in the north to around 42 in southern NH.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

After two weak disturbances brought some cloud cover and some very light precip to the region yesterday, we have another system set to continue the trend today. As with yesterday’s systems, low-level dry air will limit the coverage and intensity of precipitation today. While I think most folks will see at least a few raindrops (or perhaps even ice pellets/snowflakes) some spots could remain entirely dry. The best chance for precip will be in southern areas and in the mountains. Areas north of a Fryeburg-Brunswick-Belfast line may see some frozen precipitation briefly mix in midday. No accumulation is expected.

High temps today will remain on the chillier side, ranging from the mid 30s in the north to the mid 40s right along the coast.

If you miss out on stray snowflakes today, fear not! We have more on the way tomorrow night into Friday.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Today will feature midday clear skies and cool temps bookended by two weak disturbances that promise to bring clouds and a few showers both this morning and this evening. The first disturbance and its associated shower activity is just moving offshore as I write this around 6 AM. A few more sprinkles are likely right at the coastline before dry weather returns around 7-8 AM. Clouds from this disturbance should start breaking up around 8-9 AM and by around noon, most of us should be enjoying some sunshine.

Clouds from the next disturbance will arrive during the mid-afternoon hours. It remains to be seen just how much precipitation might fall from this system, but light rain/snow seems like a good bet across western NH starting around 6-7 PM. As you move farther east, precipitation will likely become spottier but some flurries and/or sprinkles should make it to the Maine coast by 8-9 PM.

High temps today will range from the mid 30s up north to the low 50s along the coast and adjacent parts of interior SW ME/S NH.

Jack

Hello everyone!

Today will feature cool temps and unsettled weather as a series of disturbances slide through the region. First up is a warm front that is already bringing rain to parts of SW NH. That rain will continue to expand northeastward through the morning, but it will be focused in the mountains closer to some upper-level energy. The coast may not see much if any rain today. The steadiest precip will be up in the mountains where temps will be cold enough for some of that precip to fall as a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain. The best chance of wintry precipitation will be above 2,000 feet in elevation but precipitation will be light enough to preclude much if any accumulation even there.

High temps today will range from around 40 in the mountains to around 50 along the coast. Skies today will be overcast across the area.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

This time yesterday morning, I was near the summit of Avery Peak to kick off a lovely 24 hours away from work, hence the lack of an update. My apologies for not scheduling one before then! I’m back now though as cool air filters into the region behind yesterday’s cold front.

As with any cold air advection setup, we’ll start the day with a classic upslope/downslope pattern where sunshine rules along the coast and low clouds hang tough over the mountains. As the day goes on and we get some heating from the sun while drier air arrives from the west-northwest, those clouds should gradually clear. Then we’ll just be left with some high clouds streaming in ahead of some systems to our west and southwest. No precip is expected today.

High temps will be on the cooler side today, and will range from the mid 30s up in the mountains to the mid 50s in southern NH and adjacent parts of SW ME.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Our stretch of generally quiet weather will continue today as high pressure slides to our east. Continued southerly breezes will keep temps a bit above normal for this time of year, especially in western parts of the region. Look for highs near 70 in the CT Valley and on the northwest slopes of the mountains. High temps will be a bit cooler on the southeastern side of the mountains (55 Midcoast to 65 foothills) where flow will be a bit more onshore and low clouds will limit heating during the morning. Those low clouds are fairly widespread as I write this around 6:45 AM but should gradually begin to thin out as the sun comes up. Some fog is being reported in NH but so far we’re not seeing too much here in Maine. Low clouds will clear out gradually this afternoon and will linger longest along the coast. Outside some patchy drizzle this morning, no precipitation is expected.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Today will feature calm weather and mild temperatures as high pressure slides directly overhead. Ahead of that high, very light northerly winds this morning are slowly pushing yesterday’s fog offshore. However, that process isn’t instantaneous and so we have another couple hours of low visibility to go before the sun comes out. Once the sun does come out though, it should be a really lovely day. High temps will be much warmer than yesterday, ranging from the mid/upper 50s up north to the mid 60s across much of southern Maine to the low 70s over in NH. No precipitation is expected. While mostly sunny skies are expected after morning fog burns off, a few mid/high clouds will drift through the region from time to time as another front lingers to our west. The best odds for some afternoon clouds will be up in the mountains.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Today’s weather will be defined by abundant cloud cover, some of which will make contact with the ground in the form of fog. Fog is being reported at several stations across the region this morning, though with a dense mid-level cloud deck and somewhat sparse on-the-ground observations, it’s a little hard to tell exactly where the fog is. Based on the information that is available, it looks like NH and western parts of Maine are most socked in this morning. Winds from the northeast are trying to bring some drier air into the region, but model guidance suggests those winds will try to flip around to the southeast this afternoon. Either wind direction is a relatively cool one this time of year, but if we do get some onshore flow, that would boost the odds of continued fog this afternoon.

A cold front will approach from the west today but without much instability or moisture to work with, don’t expect much in the way of rain by the time it gets to our neck of the woods. A few showers are possible in the mountains later this afternoon but that’s about it. Clearer skies will return tomorrow.

High temps today will range from around 50 up north to around 70 in far southwestern NH which will sneak into the “warm sector” of the low pressure system near Montreal.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Today will feature the potential for a few scattered showers as a cold front slides into the region from the northwest. Radar imagery this morning shows some shower activity over the mountains and foothills of NH ahead of the front. These showers are moving east-northeast and are most likely to reach the ground in the mountains and foothills of Maine. As you move closer to the coastline, rain chances don’t go to zero but they will drop off a bit and any rain that does fall will tend to be lighter. Showers will continue through the afternoon especially in the foothills.

Cloud cover will follow a similar pattern to the rain which is to say that the mountains will be most likely to retain overcast conditions for the rest of the day while breaks of sun become more likely as you approach the coastline and southern parts of NH.

Southerly/southwesterly flow ahead of the frontal boundary will help boost temps into the low-mid 60s across southern NH and SW Maine. Cooler temps (mid-upper 50s) will be found along the midcoast and up in the mountains (low-mid 50s).

-Jack