This update is presented by Allspeed Cyclery and Snow, located on Brighton Avenue in Portland, where their Mid-Winter Clearance sale is going on now! Check them out at allspeed.com! Another stormy ThursdayMy concerns about a drier solution for the south, west, central, and east appear to be playing out as liquid equivalent ideas trend less in those areas, but it will be enough to cause some slick driving conditions. Northern areas remain on track to get their best snowfall season-to-date, and with another dumper in the pipeline Saturday night into Sunday, that will breathe life into the winter economy that has suffered mercifully over the past couple of years. Thursday 6 AM (11z) to Friday Midnight (05z) – Precipitation continues to overspread the state through the morning. The transition to sleet and freezing rain over the southwest interior begins mid-morning and continues into midday. Along that boundary, snow may rip a bit to the north of it. The NAM idea here presents a sleetier solution overall, with light ice from freezing rain and patchy freezing drizzle, but it can be a coin toss with warm fronts on how much of either form of junk pending on the warm nose going up against the cold. As a result of improved agreement in model ideas and less overall liquid equivalent to work with, this has cut back on snowfall south and east of the mountains. Northern areas get a good old-fashioned snowstorm, and they need it. Precipitation ends over southern and western areas by early to mid-afternoon, late afternoon to early evening for the east, and just after midnight for the far north. Snow showers are expected to continue for the Quebec border region into Friday morning. A word to the wise for areas that get a sloppy mess along the coastal plain: You’ll want to clean that up this evening ASAP, as it will turn to cement overnight. Seeing the temperature trend, it will stay there if not dealt with. Wind cranks into FridayA wind advisory covers the state as the northwest wind picks up on the backside of the low and intensifies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Northern areas will be dealing with blowing and drifting fresh-fallen snow, which could cause localized whiteouts near the borderline of ground blizzard conditions. Friday will not be a good day to travel around the crown of the state. Wind chill values are expected to be in the teens below zero for the rooftop to the single digits above for the coastal plain during the day, and the trend is colder heading into Friday night. The wind gradually settles below advisory level Friday night. Western and southern areas see a noticeable drop in speeds by Saturday morning, but northern and eastern areas may not see the wind drop until later as high pressure moves in and kicks the storm away. Isolated to scattered power outages are possible. The next one...The Weather Prediction Center has the entire region flagged with the threat of heavy snow for Sunday and high wind in the aftermath for Monday and Tuesday. Guidance has trended cooler in the past two days with this storm, which, if that continues, would make this more of a snowier affair. This is expected to be a juicer system, with upwards of 1” of liquid possible here. Given the cold air around, this would add some fluff factor over the interior, pushing the idea of a foot or more for the mountains and north. South of the foothills to the shorelines, questions remain for precipitation type at this point. This storm is shaping up to be a slow mover. Precipitation starts over southern and western areas Saturday night, continues through Sunday, and tapers off from west to east Monday morning. This one could be a corker. Sunday 7 PM (00z Monday) to Wednesday 7 PM (00z Thursday) – Looking at percentage probability of tropical storm force wind speeds ≥ 39 mph shows a high chance for two windy days across the region as the storm gets caught in a traffic jam near Newfoundland. Not only is there a threat for power outages, but also blowing and drifting of snow through Tuesday. Ski country may be dealing with wind holds through Wednesday. Expect more details and fine-tuning to come. Stay tuned! Temperature outlook through WednesdayThe Wall is always there with the latest 24/7...PTW continues only with your support!Always have MULTIPLE ways to receive weather alerts. Stay aware, stay on alert, and stay safe. - Mike PRINT MEDIA: Feel free to quote and cite my work here for your stories. Please give me the professional courtesy of knowing that you are referencing my material so I can read your final product and acknowledge it on my media and link it on the PTW IN MEDIA page here on the website. Feel free to send me a message via the Facebook page or Twitter (X) to get my phone number if necessary. Thank you! NOTE: The forecast information depicted on this platform is for general information purposes only for the public and is not designed or intended for commercial use. For those seeking pinpoint weather information for business operations, you should use a private sector source. For information about where to find commercial forecasters to assist your business, please message me and I will be happy to help you. |
Mike Haggett
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