A cloudy Tuesday, some light snow around Wednesday into Thursday

12/8/2020

A gray cool day

You may want to grab an extra layer if working outside today as it will be breezy enough to add a bit if a snap to the air. Wind chill values will run in single digits to teens north and around 20° south. A storm offshore is tapping into the cold to the north and hauling it into the region.

HRRR idea of radar reflectivity from 7 AM - 7 PM Tuesday

I don't expect much in the way of precipitation for the day. Snow showers lurk just offshore from the storm to the southeast. If the storm jogs a bit north, that may bring them to the shorelines. This appears to be a decent ocean effect snow day the south shore of Massachusetts and the Cape. There may be some interesting snow totals from there by the time it wraps up Tuesday night.

A sneaky inverted trough set up
Wednesday into Thursday

It's that time of the year where I pay close attentions to disturbances and inversions as they pass through the region. We've had a few surprise clippers and inverted trough set ups over the years. I don't like being caught in dismissing them and have them come back and bite me.

RGEM model idea of mean sea level pressure and 3-hour precipitation from 7 PM Tuesday to 7 AM Thursday

Offshore storm departs to the northeast. A fairly strong area of low pressure over the north end of Hudson Bay brings a trough in to the southeast. This appears to create a decent lake effect event northern New York. On the surface, it does not appear to be that big of a deal for Maine.

RGEM model idea of 500 mb heights and vorticity from 7 AM Tuesday to 7 AM Thursday

Going away from the surface and opening the hood this shows plenty of upper level energy, which at the very least will bring clouds. This sets up a negatively tilted trough scenario, and appears to fire a storm well offshore late Wednesday and bring Newfoundland a decent event later in the week.

There is enough energy and enough moisture where interior areas could get a couple inches of snow out of it.

The only thing I am not confident about at this point is what happens along the coast. Southern areas may pick up some accumulation, perhaps enough to get the road crews out for a quick scrape or salt run. I will keep an eye on it and advise.

Mixed signals on the weekend

High pressure works into the region Friday, That is about the only idea models agree on at this point. Timing of the warm front and approaching storm to the west on Saturday is still to be determined. This is simply an idea for now. Stay tuned.

Temperature outlook through Monday

Temperatures are expected to around normal for the north, and below normal for the south during the period.

Be prepared to receive alerts and stay updated!

BE PREPARED WITH A NOAA Weather Radio.

For $20-$40, it could provide important information to you when you need it. The weather bands are standard on most public safety scanners, and newer scanner models. Weather radios can be programmed for auto alert. Click here for more information.

► ► For the latest official forecasts, bulletins and advisories, please check in with the National Weather Service in Gray for western and southern areas, or Caribou for northern and eastern parts of Maine

For more information, please follow Pine Tree Weather on Facebook and Twitter.

** FUNDING NEEDED FOR 2021 **
Thank you for supporting this community based weather information source that is funded by your financial contributions.

Stay updated, stay on alert, and stay safe!

- Mike

Comments