338
FXUS61 KCAR 191417
AFDCAR

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Caribou ME
917 AM EST Sun Jan 19 2025

.SYNOPSIS...
A coastal low will impact the area tonight into Monday. Arctic
high pressure will build in Monday night through the middle of
the week.

&&

.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
9:15 AM Update...A cold front is moving southeastward through
the area this morning. Had some reports of fog ahead of the
front. Thus, added some patchy fog into the forecast until the
frontal passage. Also had some scattered snow showers with the
frontal passage. Behind the front, strong cold air advection
means falling temperatures today.

Previous Discussion:
Brief improvement to conditions is expected through early this
morning as light snow begins to move out of the area. That said,
temperatures will continue to drop through the day, with
temperatures quickly dropping well below freezing.

This evening, a low pressure system will approach from the
south and move across the Gulf of Maine, heading up into the Bay
of Fundy. There is likely to be some mesoscale banding on the
northwest side of this low pressure, with guidance coming into
better agreement that this banding will likely settle somewhere
across the Interior Downeast region. There remains some
uncertainty in the exact placement of this band, but hires
guidance has been converging on the Washington county area over
the last several runs.

As the low moves through the area, it will also begin to
strengthen, leading to a tighter pressure gradient across the
area and winds gusting 30 to 35 mph. Coupled with moderate to
heavy snowfall, blowing snow could significantly reduce
visibility, particularly in these snow bands, making for
hazardous travel conditions.

&&

.SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/...
The exiting low pressure system will continue to produce snow
across the region on Monday. Models are in good agreement with
the system exiting faster than previous forecast, so adjusted
the timing to show this. By Monday afternoon, snow is expected
to end, though breezy SW winds should continue into the evening.

By Monday night, the low pressure system will move out to sea
while a weak surface ridge moves into the region. The main
concern is the very cold wind chills as the arctic air moves in.
The 925mb model temps show an area of -26C across the north
with -20C in the south. The question will be how cold the temps
will get. Upper air model soundings indicate clear skies across
the region with W winds decreasing throughout the night. If the
area is able to decouple, radiational cooling could cause temps
to drop further. As of this update, wind chills of -30 in the
north is expected with -20 to teens below zero in the south.

By Tuesday, weak ridging should remain in the area. Though
clear skies are still expected for the day, the cold arctic air
should keep temps in the single digits in the north and teens in
the south. In addition, W winds are expected to be breezy,
creating a concern for wind chills especially in the morning.

By Tuesday night, the weak ridge should stick around, making for
another cold night. Though wind chills are not expected to be as
low as Tuesday night, there is still a concern for wind chills
to reach into -20 in the north.

&&

.LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
The surface ridging is expected to stay in the area through to
the weekend, making for cold days and nights for the rest of the
work week. By Friday, extended models show a low pressure system
developing over the Mid-Atlantic states and moving into the Gulf
of Maine. Models are in disagreement with the track and strength
of the low, so went with the NBM and kept slight chance of
precip over the waters. Temps should moderate by the weekend.

&&

.AVIATION /14Z SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...
NEAR TERM: Conditions will continue to return to VFR as snow and
low ceilings quickly shift eastward, out of the region. This
evening into tonight, terminals will begin to rapidly drop back
towards IFR from south to north as snow, heavy at times, moves
into the area. Brief LLWS remains in the area before improving
into the morning hours. NW winds 5 to 10 kts increasing to 10 to
15 kts with gusts 25 to 30 kts tonight.


SHORT TERM: Mon: IFR or lower early AM with snow and blowing
snow. Trending to mainly VFR from SW to NE. NW winds 10-15 kts,
gusting 20-30 kts.

Mon Night - Tue: VFR. W-NW winds 5-10 kts on Tuesday.

Tue Night - Thu: VFR. Light W winds.

&&

.MARINE...
NEAR TERM: A period of winds below Small Craft Advisory levels
is expected today. Seas 5 to 8 ft will subside this afternoon,
but these improvements will be brief as as storm moves in from
the south and crosses the waters, bringing gale force winds and
a return of seas approaching 6 to 9 ft.


SHORT TERM: A Gale Warning has been issued for Monday morning.
By Monday afternoon, winds should decrease to SCA and remain
until Tuesday night when winds and seas drop below SCA levels
for the rest of the period.

&&

.CAR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ME...Winter Weather Advisory from 7 PM this evening to 1 PM EST
     Monday for MEZ002-004>006-010-031.
     Winter Storm Warning from 7 PM this evening to 1 PM EST Monday
     for MEZ011-015>017-029-030-032.
MARINE...Gale Warning from 1 AM to 1 PM EST Monday for ANZ050>052.

&&

$$


Near Term...AStrauser/Clark
Short Term...LaFlash
Long Term...LaFlash
Aviation...AStrauser/Clark/LaFlash
Marine...AStrauser/Clark/LaFlash