Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME

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071 FXUS61 KCAR 170054 AFDCAR Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Caribou ME 854 PM EDT Mon Sep 16 2024 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will build across the region through the early week. A backdoor cold front will drift southwest over Maine on Thursday. Another area of high pressure works into the area through the end of the week and into the weekend. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/...
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853PM Update...Temps have decreased faster than previously forecast, so adjusted to show the change. Otherwise, the rest of the forecast looks good. Previous Discussion... The 590dam 500mb high is drifting SE over the Gulf of Maine and weakening to 588dam with the surface high drifting SE of Browns Bank. Expect a mainly clear night with just haze from the Western US/Canada wildfire activity. Temperatures will fall back into the mid to upper 50s as winds relax. Patchy fog will likely develop in the river valleys tonight. Tomorrow the ridging begins to get squashed and the surface 1024mb high drifts south of Browns Bank in the NW Atlantic. A weak increase of moisture aloft will allow for some clouds to develop and turning some skies mostly sunny but mainly sunny skies expected. Tomorrow the W-SW winds will be lighter with mainly less than 10mph but a few occasional gusts to 15mph possible. 850mb temps will be around +20 to +21C so expecting highs in the low to mid 80s for most areas. Upper 70s to low 80s in the North Woods and low to mid 70s at the shoreline. Expecting slightly lower dew points in spots tomorrow resulting in afternoon minimum RHs in the 45-50% range with some locations perhaps as low as 40%. This combined with long term rainfall deficits do cause pause to monitor for fire weather conditions.
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&& .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... A ridge of high pressure will remain over the area Tuesday night through Wednesday, keeping skies mostly clear through Tuesday night and allowing for surface decoupling that will cause temperatures to fall into the mid 50s. The mild lingering temperatures remain from southwest warm air advection with the current pattern. On Wednesday, mostly clear skies will allow for temperatures to lift back into the 80s. A low pressure system will be approaching from the south through the middle of the week, and in advance of this low, cloud cover will begin to increase from south to north. As cloud cover begins to increase along the coast, temperatures will begin to level off, so highest temperatures will lift into the lower 80s at the warmest. The ridge of high pressure will act to keep the low pressure from the south away from the forecast area. Instead, a background front will drape into the area from the northeast beginning during the day on Thursday. All the moisture available for rain development will be provided from the Canadian Maritimes, so showers will be wildly scattered at best. However, the change in synoptic setup will result in more overcast skies through the middle of the week. Cooler air behind the FROPA as well as more overcast skies will keep temperatures a few degrees cooler on Thursday as compared to Wednesday, with highs in the upper 70s. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... A ridge of high pressure will return to the area from the north through the end of the week, and remain into early next week. More seasonable temperatures may be on the way with this air mass, though dry conditions will persist through this time. With mostly clear skies and lighter winds under the subsidence pattern, surface decoupling will allow for temperatures to fall into the lower 40s to potentially into the 30s, which may allow for a chance for frost this weekend. The greatest chance for any frost development will likely be the typical cooler valleys across the north, especially into the North Woods. && .AVIATION /01Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... NEAR TERM: VFR through tomorrow. BCFG possible at PQI and HUL may briefly reduce sfc vsby but most terms are visible. Tonight, W-SW winds around 5kt. Tomorrow winds will be W-SW 5-15kt tomorrow. SHORT TERM: Tues night: VFR with patchy valley fog late Tuesday night. Light W winds Tuesday night. Wed - Wed night: VFR. Light W winds. Thurs - Thurs night: Mainly VFR across all terminals. Brief MVFR possible in any rain showers that do form, though the chance of intense enough rain showers for limited cigs or vis is low (less than 10 percent). Northern terminals NW winds 5 to 10 kts. Southern terminals E around 5 kts. All terminals becoming NE around 5 kts late Thurs night. Fri - Sat: VFR across all terminals. NE winds 5 to 10 kts. && .MARINE... NEAR TERM: Winds and seas remain below SCA through Tuesday. Seas 1-2ft into tomorrow. Sea surface water temperatures are generally 54-58F from the Downeast coast out 25nm and east to the Hague Line with coldest water temperatures in Passamaquoddy Bay and near the Bay of Fundy. SHORT TERM: Winds and seas will remain below small craft advisory criteria through Thursday night, with seas 2-3 feet or less and light winds. Wind gusts will begin to approach 20 kts through the end of the week, while seas approach 5 ft over the coastal waters into the weekend. && .CLIMATE... Near record high temperatures possible through the first half of this week. Although some of the records look to be well out of reach there are a few records that could potentially be tied or broken. Here are the record highs and forecast highs for today through Wednesday September 16th-18th. 9/16: Caribou: 88F, 1939 (forecast high 84F) Bangor: 97F, 1939 (forecast high 84F) Millinocket: 93F, 1939 (forecast high 84F) Houlton: 82F, 2017 (forecast high 83F) 9/17: Caribou: 88F, 2018 (forecast high 85F) Bangor: 88F, 1991 (forecast high 85F) Millinocket: 90F, 1939 (forecast high 85F) Houlton: 85F, 2018 (forecast high 85F) 9/18: Caribou: 86F, 1942 (forecast high 83F) Bangor: 87F, 1992 (forecast high 83F) Millinocket: 87F, 1991 (forecast high 84F) Houlton: 82F, 2015 (forecast high 84F) && .CAR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ME...None. MARINE...None. && $$ Near Term...LaFlash/Sinko Short Term...AStrauser Long Term...AStrauser Aviation...LaFlash/Sinko/AStrauser Marine...LaFlash/Sinko/AStrauser Climate...