Today will feature weather conditions across Maine and New Hampshire that it’s hard to find enough positive adjectives to describe. For late-August, today scores a perfect ten. With the exception of some upslope clouds in the mountains, skies will be clear for most if not all of the day (perhaps some high clouds late?). Northwesterly breezes will keep pushing cooler and drier air into the region from Canada throughout the day. Dew points will fall into the lower 40s or upper 30s across most of the area this afternoon while temperatures top out in the mid 50s north and low/mid 70s south. So yeah, it’s going to feel pretty freakin awesome out there. Get outside and enjoy it!
Any day I can talk about a strong cold front in late summer/early fall is a good day. We have a powerful front on the way today and as a result, we can finally take another step towards the crisp mornings and mild afternoons of autumn. Before we can enjoy that delightful airmass though, we’ll need to deal with a bit of drizzle/fog this morning and some showers/storms midday.
Those showers and storms are already approaching northwestern parts of the area as I write this a little before 5 AM. Today’s front will move through on the earlier side so shower and storm activity will be earlier in the day than we’ve seen recently. Expect storms early/mid- morning in the mountains, mid/late-morning in the foothills, and late-morning/early afternoon right along the coast. The intensity and coverage of these storms will depend on how much daytime heating we get before the front arrives. Satellite imagery suggests this may not be much. Low clouds and fog are noted NE of Portland and cirrus from storms in New York is racing into the rest of the area. That said, even an hour or two of sunshine this morning will go a long way towards producing an environment favorable for strong thunderstorms. The biggest threats will be strong winds (could be more intense than usual), small hail, lightning, and heavy rain.
Storms depart early this afternoon and in their wake we’ll be left with breezy NW winds, clearing skies downwind of the mountains, and upslope clouds/showers in the mountains. Most importantly of all, the dew point will sink like a stone once those northwesterly winds kick in.
Pure joy in a single GIF
High temps today will be reached earlier in the day than most of us are used to, and will range from the low 70s up north to the low 90s in southern NH.
Our stretch of active weather will continue today as a very weak frontal boundary continues loitering near the Canadian border. A cluster of thunderstorms formed along that front last night in Quebec and its remnants have sagged into the mountains early this morning. As a result, don’t be surprised to wake up to a few raindrops north of Route 2.
Elsewhere in the area this morning, satellite imagery shows fairly widespread mid-level cloud cover ahead of a little disturbance over the Hudson Valley. Closer to the ground, fog is fairly thick in the valleys of NH and along the coastal plain NE of Portland. Expect both the mid-level clouds and the fog to clear out over the next several hours south of the mountains. As a result, we’ll see a few hours of sunshine midday before showers and storms once again pop up this afternoon/evening.
Just like the past several days, by the time we make it to noon, showers and storms will be popping up in the mountains and NW of the region in Quebec. These storms will move SE through the afternoon/evening hours and will bring the standard fare of heavy rain, lightning, breezy winds, and small hail for those towns that do end up getting hit. Once again, not everyone will see storms today, but the best chance will be farther north compared to yesterday. Also similar to yesterday will be the tendency for storms to persist into the later evening hours due to the warm airmass and continued support from the frontal boundary.
High temps will range from around 70 up in the mountains/far north to around 90 in southern NH.
We still haven’t gotten rid of the cold front responsible for touching off afternoon showers and storms over the past few days. Once morning sunshine pushes temps up this morning, expect showers and storms to develop in the mountains before moving ESE towards the coastline. Showers and storms will be most numerous south of Route 2 and west of I-95/I-295. Much like the past few days, not everyone will see a storm this afternoon but those that do will experience a brief period of heavy rain, lightning, and the potential for gusty winds and small hail. Storms may linger a bit later today than recent days but should die out not long after sunset.
Skies today will start out partly/mostly sunny except for localized valleys inland and parts of the midcoast experiencing fog. Any fog should burn off by mid/late morning. A few mid/high clouds are spilling into northern regions closer to the front itself. So bluebird skies will have to wait for another day but most of us should see at least a few brighter hours especially if you live farther south.
High temps today will range from the low/mid 70s up north to the upper 80s/near 90 in southern NH. A sea breeze will keep the coastline a bit cooler in the mid/upper 70s.
The frontal boundary that brought us yesterday’s round of showers and storms hasn’t gone very far this morning. Patches of clouds are noted along this boundary on satellite imagery this morning, so we’ll have to wait for another day to see bluebird skies return. The morning should be mostly dry as we wait for patchy sunshine to push temps high enough to support convection. That should happen around lunchtime when storms will begin to pop up in the mountains. During the afternoon, these storms will drift towards the coast with heavy rain, lightning, and the potential for gusty winds/small hail. Just like yesterday, not everyone will see a shower or storm today and those that do won’t have to deal with the rain for long. Just be ready to duck inside for a few minutes if you’re headed outdoors this afternoon.
High temps today will range from the low/mid 70s up north to the low/mid 80s in southern NH.
A frontal boundary will be sagging south through the region today, and with it will come a bit of unsettled weather. Satellite imagery shows thick low/mid clouds across much of the northern half of our area (Hanover NH->Fryeburg->Camden roughly as of 5:30 AM) this morning, and radar imagery shows a couple rounds of showers embedded within those clouds. The general idea is that both the clouds and the precipitation associated with that front will sink towards the south as we head throughout the day today.
Thankfully for those of us in the south, that process will be fairly slow. Thus most of us south of Route 2 should see at least some sunshine this morning, even if low/mid clouds are present right at sunrise. That sunshine will combine with west-southwesterly flow to produce a warm and mildly humid airmass for southern parts of the area (outside the mountains). Look for highs in the mid/upper 80s over SW NH and interior SW parts of Maine. Cooler temps, in the upper 70s to low 80s, will be found along the Midcoast where flow will be more onshore.
Thankfully, dew points in the regions where warmer temperatures are expected will remain on the lower side (55-60). Up in the mountains, high temps will generally range from the mid 60s to low 70s depending on elevation and exactly how thick the clouds can stay.
Any time we get a cold front, warm temps, and a little bit of moisture to combine in the area, we have to start thinking about thunderstorms. Today will be no exception. Expect showers and storms not already ongoing this morning to pop up west/northwest of our area around lunchtime before cruising east/southeast during the afternoon and arriving along the coastline by late afternoon/early evening.
Storm coverage will be scattered so there’s no guarantee you’ll see a storm, but if you do, expect heavy rain, lightning, and the potential for some gusty winds. Storms will be moving fast today so if you happen to be outside when they arrive, just head inside for a few minutes while the storm passes and clear skies should return soon after.
Today will feature continued cool temperatures, low humidity, and widespread sunshine as we enjoy the center of a beautiful Canadian airmass. For this time of year, the weather doesn’t get much better! Yesterday, we saw shower coverage that was probably a little above what I anticipated because we had a subtle disturbance embedded within northwesterly flow aloft. Today, we shouldn’t have that problem so shower coverage should return to the regularly-scheduled “widely scattered” with most towns staying dry. Our cool and dry air near the surface will also help prevent the development of too much convection this afternoon.
High temps today look very similar to yesterday, ranging from the upper 60s up north to upper 70s south.
Today will feature what I consider to be the best possible weather conditions for this time of year as cooler and drier air arrives from the northwest. Skies will be partly to mostly sunny with just a few mid/high clouds drifting through on the north edge of a weak low pressure system over Virginia. Temps will be pleasantly cool (for this time of year), ranging from the upper 60s north to the upper 70s along the coastal plain. Dew points will linger in the upper 40s to low 50s. Pretty hard to beat that until our first big September cold front.
There may be a brief shower this afternoon in the mountains or down in southern NH but overall, it will be another dry day.
Today will feature a trend towards more sunshine as clouds and showers associated with a cold front slide offshore in the next couple hours. Most of the rain associated with this system is now moving east of Penobscot Bay, but a few more showers are noted on radar imagery over the foothills of western Maine and the CT River valley. These will slide east over the next few hours and should be long gone by mid/late-morning. Sunshine is already crossing into western Vermont and should arrive by lunchtime.
The afternoon will feature westerly breezes bringing cooler and drier air into the region. Western and northern parts of the area will see this process occur much faster, so there won’t be enough moisture left over for a pop-up afternoon shower. The same can’t be said for much of the coastal plain where lingering moisture will combine with the developing sunshine to produce a bit of instability. This should be enough for a couple of pop-up showers, but not much more. Most of us will remain dry.
High temps today will range from the low 70s up north and along the Midcoast to near 80 in southeastern NH and adjacent SW ME.
Today will feature continued cool weather and a few more clouds than we’re used to as an ocean storm develops off the Virginia Capes. This system will pass well to our south today, so clouds over southern areas is about all we’ll get from it. While I can’t entirely rule out a brief shower over far southern NH, I think the much safer bet is for dry weather to prevail across the area once again. The other spot where a shower can’t totally be ruled out is in the foothills/mountains north of Augusta/Waterville. Skies will get sunnier as you head farther north, so there will be a small bit of instability available this afternoon. Not enough to worry about storms, but enough to hold open the possibility for a brief shower.
Temps will range from the low 70s right along the coast to the upper 70s in the CT Valley and the hills north of Augusta.
I’ll be gone on another brief trip tomorrow morning, so won’t have a forecast update. The forecast for tomorrow looks a bit warmer as winds shift around to the south/southwest ahead of an approaching cold front. Highs will range from the mid 70s along the coast and up north to the mid 80s in the usual warm corridor of Waterville/Augusta/Lewiston /Fryeburg/Manchester/Keene. Skies should be mostly sunny except for afternoon clouds that pop up especially over NH and the mountains of western ME. Some of those clouds will grow into showers and storms, but they likely won’t have access to enough instability or upper-level wind to become severe outside of a stray wind gust.
Forecasterjack 