Severe storms possible for the region Saturday

Eye on the sky day

A cold front will pass through the region on Saturday to sweep the heat and humidity out of the region. With the dew point forecast in the 70s for a good chunk of the coastal plain and moisture being pumped in ahead of the front, this presents the best severe storm threat of the summer thus far for the state.

There is the risk for an isolated shower or thunderstorm Saturday morning, but the main event appears to be late morning for the Allagash region and afternoon for the rest of the state.  Damaging wind is the main threat. Given the high humidity level, flash flood potential downpours and hydroplaning on the highways is of concern. Some areas could see 1-2"+ of localized rainfall in a short period of time. With the intrusion of cold air aloft, there is large hail potential with the well organized storms.

The big question as always is if the storms will hold together to reach the shorelines. Given the projected track of the frontal boundary, the coastline has a fair shot at seeing some action.

Temperatures will be a bit cooler in theory compared to Friday. I say "in theory" as the heat index, factoring in the uncomfortable humidity levels will make it feel like the mid to upper 90s in areas away from the coast. 

If you are headed to the lake or ocean beaches to seek relief from the heat, keep your eyes and ears open for storms, and prepare to take action once the threat for storms occurs. Seek shelter in a safe building, and stay away from windows.

Sugarloaf NOAA Weather Radio transmitter
offline July 8th until fall

Sugarloaf USA Photo

In much cooler times back in late February, a winter storm which caused hurricane level wind gusts turned the communications tower on top of Sugarloaf Mountain into a pile of scrap metal. The tower relayed cell phone, public safety, NOAA Weather Radio, as well other transmissions. The spire is in the process of being replaced, which will begin on Monday. As a result, the NOAA Weather Radio transmitter will be taken offline until sometime this fall. 

The frequency of this service for the Sugarloaf service area (Oxford, Franklin, Somerset Counties) is 162.450 MHz. The National Weather Service has two other frequencies for use while the tower is replaced. The Mount Washington tower frequency at 162.500 MHz is the first one to try. The other is the Greenville tower frequency at 162.425 MHz. Most recently produced NOAA Weather Radios and public safety radio scanners are  equipped to receive transmission from any available NOAA frequency via their internal scan mode, so manual adjustments are not needed. For older models, they may have to be manually entered. If for some reason neither of the two alternate frequencies work, you can always check the National Weather Service Gray website for forecast information and severe weather bulletins. 

There should be no interruption of FIPS code alerts, so long as your radio can receive a signal from either the Mount Washington or Greenville towers.

Stay on top of the forecast to get a rough idea of when severe weather may occur in order to prepare accordingly if away from both radio and cell phone / web related sources. 

Outlook through midweek

Sunday morning may see some early morning fog in places that get heavy rain the night before, but that should burn off by mid-morning. The region appears precipitation free until later in the week as a cold front arrives Thursday and may not clear until Friday. Humidity levels stay down until Wednesday. Temperatures through the period will range in the 70s north and mountains, 80s for much of the coastal plain for highs and 50s for most areas for overnight lows. 

​► ► 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.

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Always stay weather aware! 

​- Mike