Time to prepare for the next big one For those of us in the south, it's time to clean up and reload. Wind watches, winter storm watches, and flood watches are posted. Midweek storms are never good, and this one won't be good at all. With another storm on the way for the weekend, and possibly another early next week, the pattern will remain active. If you have any doubts at all for what you may need, whether it is home heating fuel, emergency supplies such as non perishable food, batteries, cell phone chargers, gas for the generator, here's your message that you should have all of those items fully stocked and ready for use. Dynamic, impactful, and complicated Tuesday 6 PM to Wednesday 10 PM - One of several parts of this storm that will be an issue is the fact that it is expected to crank up overnight. When the heavier precipitation comes, the strong wind will come with it. The combination of the two work in tandem together. While interior areas get pasted with wet snow, the wind gusts will do their job and bring trees and power lines down. As the precipitation tapers off, the strong winds drop along with it. The good news is that this storm appears to be a quick mover, but for 8-10 hours, it will be intense. Most areas start as snow and end with rain, with a mix possible in between.  Pet peeve time. I have an issue with the way NOAA handles wind. I am not taking a shot at the work the Gray and Caribou offices by any means here, as I understand their hands are strapped. As far as I am concerned, the whole state is under a damaging wind watch. There is a fundamental problem in cases like this that areas that are not under a high wind watch that should have some type of elevated wind statement BEFORE a wind advisory is issued. In a storm like this where power loss is likely to be widespread outside of the high wind watch area, it's a disservice to the public, and a communication failure. Rant over. The general idea here is for those to the east of the I-95 corridor are likely to see the strongest gusts. MidCoast and DownEast areas could flirt with hurricane force. The exposed islands may hit 80 mph. Folks who reside on the higher terrain could see strong gusts as well. There will easily be six-digit figure power outages associated with this storm, with long term outages likely over the interior.  There is not much in the way for snow for the shorelines. Western areas that get pasted with upwards of a foot or more of slop, I am praying for. It's not just the clean up of driveways and the roads, it's the power outages that are likely to come from the combination of the wet snow and the wind. The double edge sword of cold air damming is totally in view here.  Southern areas are going to flood, without question. All the snow received on Sunday will be reduced to a few snowbanks. The ground is frozen. The melting and run off will go to the brooks, streams, rivers, urban streets, and basements. For those who lose power and do not have a generator for the sump pump, good luck. Hopefully the frozen ground prevents road washouts, but the depth of the cold in the ground may not be enough to prevent it. BUST POTENTIAL: The parent low over western Quebec will be past maturity, which introduces the dry slot that may knock down precipitation amounts. Interior areas need to be aware of freezing rain and sleet potential that may reduce snowfall amounts, but I don't think there will be any complaints about that given the situation with the wind.  I think the southwest coast gets spared of the strong wind at high tide, but that does not appear to be the case for the Penobscot Bay / DownEast region. Storm surge ideas continue in the 2-4' range. Astronomical high tides are in play. It will be bad enough. The seas build in the afternoon over DownEast areas as well, with 20+ footers possible in the afternoon. There could be some splash-over issues with the high tide Wednesday night. With another storm on the way for Saturday, astronomical high tides will be at their peak. While that storm does not appear to be of that magnitude of this one, it still could be problematic for the shorelines. The fine tuning of the forecast comes Tuesday morning. Stay tuned. You are reading this due to the support of others before you Thank you to Allspeed Cyclery & Snow in Portland, Downeast Aerial Photography in Rockland, Dutch Elm Golf Club in Arundel, and Sunrise Property Services in Bridgton, for partnering with Pine Tree Weather. Special thanks to all the individuals who financially contribute. I sincerely appreciate your support. Stay updated, 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 Who I Am 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
|
