A 50/50 Holiday Weekend

All in all it won’t be a bad weekend. High pressure gives Friday a decent early winter day. A weak disturbance rolls through on Saturday with less moisture than the one on Thursday. Christmas Sunday is coming in a bit cooler, but appears sun abundant for most areas. Clouds increase late Sunday into Monday as the blizzard over the northern Plains & central Ontario approaches the state for Monday.

Friday is on track to be a good one for an early jump on travel, or for running those last minute errands. A northwest breeze will make the air feel about 10°- 20° cooler than what is depicted here for daily highs, but that has been a part of life here over the past couple of weeks. Southern York County & immediate southwest coast shoreline towns may reach 40°, but won’t go much higher than that. Sun should be abundant everywhere except the High Peaks where some low level clouds may obscure the golden globe from time to time. Northern areas may see some high clouds filter the sun in the afternoon. Otherwise, it will be a mostly sunny day for areas south and east.

Clouds increase Friday night ahead of our Saturday system. Overnight lows range from the teens north and west, to the 20s south and east.

Christmas Eve Saturday

Looking at liquid precipitation amounts over the life of this system shows the MidCoast to Washington County and the mountains as being the main areas for any accumulation of any kind. It’s quite starved for moisture overall. Flurries & snow showers for the mountains, perhaps a very light mix of sleet / freezing rain over the east central areas, and light rain showers for the coast. It appears unlikely to spoil any holiday gatherings or impact travel in any form. Any precipitation will likely be done, over with and forgotten about by early afternoon, and a Christmas Eve sunset is likely to be seen over the south and east. Highs for the day appears to range in the 30s for most areas with low 40s for the coast.

A weak wave works through overnight which may obscure the sky with high to mid-level clouds, but all in all a nice night. Lows will fall to the teens north and west, 20s south and east.

Christmas Day Sunday

While the Northern Plains and Great Lakes are getting hammered with a Christmas Day blizzard, Maine enjoys a sun-filled day after some early morning clouds burn off. The weak wave from the evening before brings cooler air into the region, more noticeable in the far north where temps top out in the teens. The rest of the state climbs to the 20s over the interior and 30s for the coast & coastal interior.

Sunday night starts off mostly clear, with clouds on the increase in the wee hours of Monday. Overnight lows bottom out below zero for the Crown, single digits for the interior, and low teens for the coast.

Storm Approaches Monday

Folks visiting friends and family have a choice to make. Hit the road early to beat the storm, or hang out for an extra day. The good news is the state only appears to get grazed with about a 12-14 hour span of precipitation in various forms from mid to late afternoon to early Tuesday. The highest amount appear likely for northern Maine where a half a foot of snow may fall. Folks from Jackman to Eastport south and west may only need a brush to clean this one up by Tuesday morning, if that. A rain / mix is likely to be the key feature for areas of the south and central part of the state. This is primarily a Northern New England event, with areas south of New Hampshire getting light rain showers from the frontal system, and that is about it. Guidance is more or less in agreement on this one at this point, which helps with forecast confidence around this event. There is still time for changes, so please stay tuned for more updates.

Highs for the day appear to range in the 20s over the north and mountains, 30s over the interior, and 40s for the coastal plain. Lows Monday night fall to the teens north, 20s interior, and 30s coast.

A Fair But Somewhat Cloudy Tuesday

As I mentioned, this system doesn’t hang around long and is affecting Atlantic Canada by the time the morning commute starts for Tuesday. Higher elevations may see some early snow shower activity at times through the day as a couple of weak troughs pass through in the wake of the storm. Skies appear mostly cloudy for the north and west, with partial sun in the east. Far southern areas are likely to see the most sun for the day. Highs for Tuesday range in the 30s north, east, and west, 40s south.

Looking farther ahead, high pressure takes over for Wednesday, with a possible storm to impact the end of the week.

Thanks as always for your support, and Happy Holidays!

~ Mike Haggett

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Special thanks to Tropical Tidbits and Pivotal Weather for their written permission to use their graphics in this post. Use of WeatherTAP images used within their written permitted terms of media use policy. Additional forecast information supplied by the National Weather Service, WeatherBELL Analytics and AccuWeather Professional.

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