Hello everyone!

Today will feature continued nice weather as a weak storm system races southeast through Massachusetts and eventually offshore. The northern edge of that system has brought some clouds and light precip to southern NH this morning. The precip is on its way out in the next hour or two, but the clouds will be a bit more stubborn. Far SW NH may remain stuck in the overcast for most of the day while drier air erodes the cloud deck over central NH and southwestern ME. Temps will remain mild outside the mountains (highs around 40) and immediate coastline (highs around 45) as temps once again rise into the mid/upper 50s. Enjoy the nice weather!

Remember we have inclement weather arriving on Thursday as a nor’easter rapidly intensifies offshore. That storm will bring high winds, coastal flooding, heavy rain (near the coast) and heavy snow (inland/mountains). Now is the time to prepare for power outages if you’re either right along the coast or in the foothills/mountains.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Today will feature continued quiet weather as a weak cold front reinforces our northwesterly flow pattern without adding much in the way of clouds/precip. Expect clear skies this morning to give way to partly cloudy skies this afternoon especially in the mountains as the front slides through and weak upsloping restarts. Downwind of the mountains, clear skies and downsloping will push temps back into the upper 50s/low 60s away from the immediate coastline where a sea breeze will keep temps in the mid to upper 40s. Enjoy the nice weather while it lasts, it looks like we’re in for a late season snowstorm on Thursday night. More details on that system to come.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Today will feature mild temps, sunny skies, and the arrival of a very dry airmass as northwesterly flow takes over behind yesterday’s cold front. Despite the cooler airmass moving in our direction, downsloping and heating from the strong April sun will push temps solidly above 60 for most of the coastal plain. A sea breeze will try to form but should be held at bay by the northwesterly synoptic flow. With that in mind, even the coastline should be pretty warm perhaps with the exception of the Midcoast peninsulas (Boothbay-Rockland especially). Cooler temps in the mid 40s will be found up in the mountains where some upsloping is possible especially this morning. The final notable feature of today’s weather will be just how dry the air will be. Dew points should drop to around 10-15 while surface temps are in the low/mid 60s. If you head outside today, remember to bring some extra chapstick. Otherwise, be aware that fire danger will be high today especially southeast of the mountains.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Today will feature the return of abundant cloud cover and scattered precipitation as we trade our offshore storm for one moving through Quebec. This new system thankfully won’t stick around for several days, but it will drag a cold front through the area this afternoon. Showers will develop along the boundary in western NH by 3-4 PM before moving into Maine between 5 and 7 PM. There’s some signs that these showers will have access to shallow instability, but I don’t see it being strong or deep enough for any severe weather. That said, a brief rumble of thunder can’t be ruled out especially in western NH. Showers will quickly depart from west to east this evening as drier air surges in from Ontario. High temps will range from 45 along the coast and in the northern mountains to 60 for most of interior ME/NH.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

The strong ocean storm that has been impacting the area for several days now is finally drifting southeast towards Bermuda this morning. As it races into the Central Atlantic, its grip on the region will loosen but we’ll still be stuck with its footprint for another day. Satellite imagery shows plenty of cloud cover still in place across the region this morning with the exception being a swath of NH SW of the Whites (likely due to downsloping NE winds). Clouds will slowly thin today, but don’t expect bluebird skies unless you’re just downwind of a mountain ridge. Winds will still be breezy out of the north/northeast, but will generally be calmer than yesterday. Precipitation should be all but done though a few patches of drizzle are being observed via radar near Augusta. These should dry up shortly. All in all, today won’t be spectacular weather-wise, but it will be a lot better than the past couple days. High temps will be a bit warmer too, ranging from 40 in the north to 45 right along the coast to 50 for most inland areas to 55 in far SW NH.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

The offshore storm that soaked the region yesterday continues to slowly retrograde westward this morning. As a result, we have another day under its influence today. That means overcast skies and blustery north winds (25-35 mph) for all and lingering showers for areas southeast of the mountains. Showers will continue through the early afternoon before dry air begins pushing in from the north and showers depart into southern New England. Overall, today won’t feature much if any hazardous weather (though be aware that with wind gusts nearing 40 mph in spots, a scattered power outage can’t be ruled out) but it will be unpleasant by most people’s definition. Even Mother Nature wants to remind you to stay home.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

We’ve enjoyed an unusual amount of nice weather so far this spring season, but today the bill is coming due. A powerful ocean storm is retrograding south of Nova Scotia this morning and is pushing a plume of moisture into the region from the east as it does so. As a result, we can expect overcast skies today along with a cold north wind gusting over 30 mph at times (especially near the coast), and a steady cold rain. Despite being a fascinating event from a meteorological perspective, there’s not actually much more to say about this system that’s relevant to most folks. Radar imagery suggests that the rain is already here except perhaps for far SW NH where it will arrive soon. Rain won’t depart until well after dark so we don’t need to worry about timing that out too closely. Rainfall totals will generally fall in the 1-1.5″ range with higher amounts possible along east-facing mountain slopes and lower amounts in the CT valley west of the White Mountains. Because this rain will fall over a >12 hour period, no flooding is expected. Because winds will be out of the N/NE which is cross/offshore, no significant coastal flooding is expected despite very rough seas.

I’ll leave you with some satellite imagery of this system which (I think) is pretty spectacular.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Today will feature the return of overcast skies as our next storm begins approaching from the northeast. Satellite imagery shows cloud cover crawling southwest along a Portland-Berlin NH line. That means that NH and far SW ME should enjoy a nice sunrise before overcast skies arrive in a few hours. For points NE of Portland, the clouds are already here. Between the clouds and northerly breezes, today’s temps will remain on the chillier side ranging from 35 in the mountains to 40 along most of the coastal plain to 45 or 50 in far southwestern NH. The storm will throw its first batch of precipitation at us from the east this evening, but it shouldn’t arrive in Penobscot Bay until after 9 PM and Brunswick/Augusta after 10-11 PM. Most of the cold rain we’ll be dealing with from this storm will come tomorrow.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Today will feature the return of sunshine for much of the area, though some folks will have to be a bit patient. The inverted trough that brought snow to the area yesterday is drifting lazily southwest as we sit under a region of weak winds aloft. Some snow showers are still showing up on radar over Central NH but they don’t appear strong enough to drop anything more than a coating.

Drier air will slowly filter into the region today on northeasterly winds as that inverted trough keeps sliding southwest. Eventually, we’ll get dry enough for clouds to clear. Satellite imagery suggests that the clearing line is now pushing through Greenville ME though patchy sun is possible farther southwest. By early this afternoon, most spots northeast of Portland should see some sunshine. Everyone should be clear by sunset.

Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. Clouds return tomorrow ahead of our next system set to arrive on Thursday. Interestingly enough, that system will be backing into the region from the northeast. Not exactly typical for our latitude!

Here’s a little loop showing our next frontal boundary originating in the Central Atlantic today before moving west through Newfoundland and New Brunswick/Nova Scotia tomorrow and eventually arriving here in Maine on Thursday.

-Jack

Hello everyone!

Today will feature chilly temps and continued unsettled weather as a storm system lingers just off Cape Cod. The first round of precipitation associated with that system has moved well northeast of the area as of 6 AM so most of us are seeing either dry conditions or a very light drizzle. These conditions will remain in place over the next few hours before an upper level disturbance arrives around noon. Once that disturbance gets here, expect showers to develop again over the Maine coast and adjacent parts of the foothills. Showers will initially fall as rain (especially right near the coast) but as cold air surges in from New Brunswick, expect a changeover to snow. Minimal accumulations are expected but up to 1″ is possible where stronger snow showers linger. This band of snow showers will slowly drift southwest this evening, bringing some precipitation into southeastern NH by sunset. High temps will be quite chilly today, ranging from a little below 30 in the north to around 40 in far southwestern NH.

I wanted to end this post with a quick note about last night’s storms. They were, well, unexpected certainly by me and perhaps by a few others too. I took a look through some of the data I analyzed yesterday morning with the benefit of hindsight. Should it have been obvious that thunderstorms would occur? The answer is that based on available forecast model data, it wasn’t entirely obvious. There was a layer of instability forecast between 10,000 feet and 30,000 feet, but it was extremely weak. That type of instability would only support thunderstorms if there was a strong forcing mechanism to push air upwards independent of thunderstorm updrafts. With the storm responsible for producing last night’s precipitation decaying >500 miles to our west, it wasn’t clear that we’d be able to manage such robust upward motion. That said, in retrospect I think I should’ve mentioned the possibility for thunder in southern areas. Hopefully you enjoyed the surprise fireworks, I know I did despite the fact they highlighted a mistake of mine.

Stay home and stay healthy everyone.

-Jack