I’m a third-year atmospheric science student at Cornell University who has been blogging about the weather since 2011. While I’m not officially a meteorologist, I have accumulated a bit of experience forecasting both local weather (in western Maine and New Hampshire) as well as national/international weather during my time writing for weather.us and weathermodels.com. I also have experience programming in Python, teaching concepts in weather forecasting, and communicating forecast information to general audiences.
Today’s forecast reads straight from the month of December as we have cold air damming forecast this afternoon. After highs reach the low to mid 40’s around midday, a process known as evaporational cooling will allow a burst of snow to fall across most of area as precip arrives early this evening. Snow will change to rain fairly quickly along the immediate coastline as warmer air moves in off the ocean, but inland, cold air will remain dammed against the higher terrain. This will result in a change to sleet and freezing rain tonight as warm air surges in aloft. By tomorrow morning, temps at 4,000 feet will sit in the upper 50’s to low 60’s, while at the surface we’ll be stuck in the upper 30’s/low 40’s. Watch for slick travel both this evening and tomorrow morning, especially inland where colder temps will be more conducive to wintry precipitation sticking to roads.
As a quick side note, I will be giving a talk at the Yarmouth Historical Society this afternoon at 2 PM. I’ll be discussing Maine weather, what makes it special, and how you can help people like me predict it better. I’ll also talk a little bit about who I am and how I got to be where I am today. Stop by and say hi if you’re around!
Today will feature weather that includes several elements right from the early spring in Maine textbooks. We’ll start off with dense fog and areas of drizzle this morning, in addition to a cool SE wind off the ocean. Areas of rain will move through later in the morning as a cold front approaches. After the front passes, winds will shift to the northwest and we’ll see to what extent downsloping is able to clear out parts of the coastal plain. If we do get some sunshine, temps will be able to make a run into the mid 50’s. If not, we’ll likely stay limited to the upper 40’s as turbulence associated with the front mixes down some warmer air from aloft, but the effects of daytime heating are limited.
Today will feature seasonable temps and increasing clouds as a weak front approaches from the west. Look for sunshine this morning to fade to cloudiness by the late afternoon/evening, though very little if any precipitation is expected. Highs will remain on the cooler side of average, but not by much, with temps ranging from 32 in the mountains to 40 in the south. Some very light/spotty snow, sleet, and freezing rain is possible tonight/early tomorrow morning as the front moves closer, but it’s such a weak system that not everyone will see precip. However, it doesn’t take very much mixed precip to make roads slick, so watch for that on the drive in tomorrow morning.
Forecasterjack 