Today looks like a pretty nice day as high pressure slides off to our east. Morning low clouds are quickly burning off in parts of southern Maine as I write this and everyone should see mostly clear skies by lunchtime. As we move deeper into the afternoon, instability will start to build over western NH and a few showers will pop up as they might on a summer afternoon. These showers should stay west of the Maine border until around or a little after sunset.
High temps today will range from the mid 60s in the Connecticut River valley to the mid 40s along the Midcoast.
Enjoy the nice weather today, a late-season snowstorm appears to be en route for Friday. It ain’t summah yet, bub.
Northeast flow retains control over the area today as we sit wedged between low pressure south of Nova Scotia and high pressure up in Quebec. Just like the last few days, we’ll start off with more clouds than sun (especially in Maine, NH is pretty clear at the moment based on satellite imagery) with a gradual clearing trend as the day goes on. Most of us will see sunshine for at least part of the day, though few will see a “mostly sunny” day.
As the sun comes out in spots and the core of the cooler airmass aloft slides to our east, look for temps to increase a bit today compared to the past few days. Most spots should top out in the mid to upper 50s with a few low 60s in the CT Valley and a few high 40s in the far north and closer to Belfast/Camden.
Most of us will stay dry today though I can’t rule out a brief shower over central NH where the tiniest hint of instability will emerge this afternoon.
You didn’t think we were just going to skip to late May, did you? That’s right, it’s still April and we’re still within spitting distance of the 45th parallel and that means we have more than a few cool/drizzly days ahead of us before summer is here to stay. With a backdoor cold front now settling down to our southwest, today will be one of those cool/drizzly days as northeasterly winds push a cool maritime airmass in our direction.
Satellite imagery shows clouds locked in place across most of the area with just a few breaks of sun in the mountains where easterly winds are downsloping a bit. This should be the general pattern for most of the morning until drier air starts to arrive just like yesterday. Parts of the area between Farmington and Belfast will clear out first, and thus will see the warmest temperatures in the low/mid 50s. Southern NH will stay cloudy all day and thus will stay cooler, in the mid/upper 40s. Drizzle will impact just about the whole area this morning but will retreat a bit towards NH and far SW ME this afternoon. Some steadier showers may impact far southwestern NH but don’t have enough momentum to move much past Manchester/Concord.
Today will feature cooler temps and cloudier skies as two storm systems approach the area, one from the northeast and the other from the southwest. Both storms will mostly fall apart as they arrive, but the former will bring cooler air/low clouds and the latter mid/high clouds especially this afternoon/evening. Look for winds shifting around to the east/northeast and temps dropping as a result. Highs will range from the mid 40s along the Midcoast to around 60 near Augusta where breaks of sunshine this afternoon and the offshore fetch of a NE wind will take the edge off the cooler air.
A few showers are possible from the southern storm over far SW NH this evening, but most of the region will remain dry again today outside of some patchy drizzle along the Midcoast.
Today will feature another day of very warm weather, for this time of year at least. Winds will shift around to the west/southwest which will keep pushing warmer air into the region while also helping to mitigate the effect of the sea breeze. With sunny skies and warm air aloft, temps will soar into the low 70s for many away from the coast. The mountains will be just a little cooler in the mid 60s. Some of our usual warm spots could make a run at the mid or even upper 70s (looking at you, Concord NH-Fryeburg ME). The Midcoast will be a bit cooler, especially as you head closer to the water, with highs in the mid to upper 50s.
If you enjoyed yesterday’s weather, get ready to do it all over again today. Mostly sunny skies are in place across the region as high pressure remains lodged solidly overhead between two big storm systems to our east and west. Bright sunshine will heat inland areas to the low 70s today with 60s farther north. With so much warmth inland and no strong westerly wind to keep the sea breezes at bay, cooler air will rush in off the water this afternoon. That’ll keep the Midcoast locked around 50 and will send temps tumbling into the 50s along and east of the Turnpike later in the day.
This evening, some of that onshore flow may contain a bit of fog right along the coast so watch out for lowered visibilities if you’re headed out and about.
Today will feature mild temperatures, mostly dry weather, and mostly cloudy skies as a strong ocean storm continues to spin well to our east. Light northeasterly winds will keep clouds in the mix, especially across parts of Maine. There should be breaks of sun every now and again with the brighter patches more likely in southern NH and less likely along the Maine Midcoast. High temps will follow a similar distribution with mid/upper 40s near Rockland and mid 60s near Keene NH. Most of the area should fall within a few degrees of 55F this afternoon. While a few brief showers can’t be ruled out, especially east of Augusta, today will be mostly dry as the offshore storm slowly spins itself out.
After fairly widespread shower activity yesterday, drier weather will return to the region today despite continued proximity to the ocean storm spinning south of Nova Scotia. This storm will keep skies partly to mostly cloudy today, with the best chance for some sunshine to be found over NH and far western Maine. While winds will remain out of the north, there’s not a whole lot of cold air waiting in the wings over Quebec so temps will be on the mild side. Look for highs ranging from the low 40s up north to around 60 in southern NH. The best chance for some scattered showers will be up in the mountains and along the Midcoast-Augusta corridor.
Today will feature cool temps and showery weather as an ocean storm retrogrades south of Nova Scotia. Bands of precipitation will continue to pivot southeast through the area today with the steadiest rain and snow found from the mountains of Maine over into the Augusta area. Points farther south and west will spend more of the day under thick cloud cover, but only showery precipitation. High temps will range from the mid 30s up north to the low/mid 50s where some sunshine might be able to sneak through the clouds in southwestern NH. You’ll also notice NW breezes picking up today, though they’ll be more of a nuisance than a real power outage threat.
The North Atlantic weather pattern has entered a “blocking” phase this morning which means that instead of cruising from west to east, storms across the basin are now retrograding from east to west. That means that we’ll have to think about the big ocean storm spinning south of Nova Scotia which is headed our way rather than trundling out to sea like it normally would.
Here’s a satellite view of the storm in question. Note the westward movement of clouds across the Gulf of Maine.
Before those clouds arrive this afternoon, skies will be clear across the region and temps will warm into the mid 40s north to near 60 south. north/northwest winds on the western flank of this ocean storm will push the warm air all the way to the coastline. As the afternoon goes on, clouds will increase from east to west (weird, isn’t it).
This storm will throw a band of precipitation our way later in the evening. It will enter the Penobscot Bay region around sunset and move steadily west until it fizzles out over central/western NH tomorrow afternoon. The mountains/foothills will see this precipitation fall entirely as snow with 1-3″ of accumulation expected in the favored upslope-enhanced spots. The immediate coast will see mostly rain while spots in between see a rain/snow mix with minimal if any accumulation.
Forecasterjack 