Maine weather: windy through Thursday; weekend showers; eclipse outlook

High pressure slowly advances from the Great Lakes toward the state Wednesday into Thursday, bringing gusty winds along with it. Clouds increase Thursday into Friday as low pressure moves westward. Showers break out over western and southern areas Friday afternoon, overspreading the state Friday night. Steady rain exits Saturday morning. A trailing cold front brings another round of showers Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning. A weak trough brings showers to the mountains and Crown late Sunday morning into early afternoon.

Wednesday – Flying Trash Can Alert™

Southern areas may see some patchy fog early on, but it should burn off by mid-morning.

While mainly sunny for the day, wind appears to be the main weather feature as high pressure slowly moves westward across southeastern Ontario. In combination of Hurricane Gert passing by well offshore, it will make for a stiff breeze for much of the state.

It would not be a bad idea to tidy up the yard of any objects that could go airborne.

The northwest wind could gust around 30-35 mph over the mountains and Crown, and 20-30 mph elsewhere.
With the downsloping wind, high temperatures appear to struggle to reach 70° for the high peaks and north, 70s for the foothills and Down East, to the mid-80s for the southwest coast.

Wednesday Night – Continued breezy 

While the sun may set, the wind will continue into the evening.

Southern areas will gradually slow down as the night progresses towards morning, but for the rest of the region, the breeze continues.

It appears to be noticeably fall-like in the mountains and north as temperatures drop into the low to mid-40s. Southern and eastern areas range in the 50s

Thursday – Breezy conditions diminish

With Gert well northeast of the region and high pressure close by, the breeze appears to subside for the Crown and mountains by afternoon.

A mainly sunny day for all, with high clouds filtering in over southern areas late in the afternoon.

Highs for the day range in the 70s for most, with low 80s possible over the southwest interior.

Thursday Night – High Clouds Increase

The Crown and eastern areas enjoy a clear start to the evening, but all areas see high clouds take over by daylight on Friday.

Overnight lows range from the upper 40s north and mountains to around 60° for the southwest coast.

Extended Outlook – Weekend not a total loss

While some models depict beneficial rainfall for the coast, there are discrepancies in model output. Some rain is expected in all areas, how much remains a question mark for this forecaster.

For Friday, southern and western areas see showers develop in the mid to late afternoon. Northern and eastern areas remain dry until evening.

Saturday sees steady rain end by morning. A trailing cold front brings shower activity back to the region late Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning.

Sunday sees a chance for showers for the mountains and Crown, with dry conditions appear for now for the south and east. I will say there is differing model ideas on the shower activity this late in the forecast.

Stay tuned.

Eclipse outlook

While today’s GFS model run indicates a clear view for the region, I am concerned that low pressure near Labrador may spoil the viewing over northern Maine. It does appear that further south, the better the chance to see it.

This is a 60% eclipse here in Maine. It begins around 1:30 PM, peaks around 2:45 PM, then clears around 3:50 PM.

Remember to use protective eyeware, and refrain from looking at the eclipse directly.

For more information on how to safely view the eclipse, please check the NOAA Eclipse 2017 website. Be aware of knock off viewing glasses that do not meet ISO 12312-2 international safety standards.

-Mike Haggett

For official forecast information: please check in with National Weather Service Gray for Western & Southern Maine and National Weather Service Caribou for Eastern & Northern Maine.

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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.

Always Stay Weather Aware!

Mike Haggett

About Mike Haggett

As a Mainer for nearly five decades, Mike understands all too well the ever changing weather forecasts and surprises given the location and geography of the state. Spending much of his time as child outdoors fishing in all four seasons, keeping track of the weather was a must for personal safety. Living firsthand through the impacts of weather through many types of storms and phenomena, the idea came to mind for him to analyze it closer in 2011.