Another bitter cold night; light snow potential Friday night into Saturday

Wind chill advisory for northwest areas Thursday night

The National Weather Service in Caribou has issued a wind chill advisory from 11 PM Thursday evening until 9 AM Friday. Wind chill indices are expected to hit below zero for much of the state in the overnight hours into Friday morning. The good news is the wind is expected to settle, with Friday being just plain cold. 

Clouds increase Friday

High pressure takes over briefly during the day Friday, killing the breeze and allowing for a mostly sunny day through much of the day. Clouds increase ahead of a warm front approaching from the south by the end of the daylight portion of the day, and take over Friday night.

A bit of snow in the offing for
parts of the coast Friday night

I will be right upfront to say that I am not trying to hype this, but something does not appear right to me as far as what the models are selling. A sharply negative tilted trough pushes through Southern New England on Friday. It appears that the southern stream misses the upper level trough, which cuts off rapid development of a coastal low. While nothing at the surface takes shape, what is going on a few feet above the atmosphere has me a bit intrigued.

The wind pattern at roughly 1,700 feet suggests something may swirl up ahead of the upper level energy to the south. I am thinking an area from roughly Portland to Belfast along the coast and inland a few miles may see a bit of light snow in the overnight hours into Saturday morning. Any accumulation is likely to be less than an inch. I am going to keep watch on this and will update again on Friday. 

Snow showers possible for some areas Saturday

In the updated 5-Day Outlook (click on the menu link above) I have coastal snow showers as a potential for Saturday. Again, I am not expecting much of concern, but I am concerned that the atmospheric set up may produce a bit more than models are selling at this point. Snow showers are a stronger likelihood for the western mountains and foothills. I am not expecting much accumulation from that either. The higher elevations of the ski slopes may pick up an inch, lesser amounts in the valleys. 

A quiet day Sunday

Sunday all in all will be a nice day, yet cold. There appears to be varying amounts of clouds pending on region, but it is on track to be a mainly sunny day. 

Monday and Tuesday are the next chance for precipitation. As I mentioned on Facebook last night, guidance is a mess beyond 3 days, with sharply different ideas. My best estimate for those days is on the 5-Day Outlook page.

Thanks as always for your support!

​- Mike