Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Portland, ME

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155 FXUS61 KGYX 190251 AFDGYX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Gray ME 1051 PM EDT Tue Jun 18 2024 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will settle east of New England through much of this week, continuing our period of hot and humid conditions. Record high temperatures and potentially dangerous heat index values are likely. A few scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible on Wednesday. A weak cold front will slowly cross through the region on Thursday and Friday with an increasing chance for scattered thunderstorms and cooler temperatures by this weekend. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING/...
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1045 PM Update...Little to no change to the going forecast as a warm, mostly clear, and calm night is expected along with some patchy fog and haze. 710 PM Update...Partly cloudy skies are the rule early this evening and that will continue into the overnight. Isolated showers and or thunderstorms will come to an end with the loss of daytime heating in an hour or two. Otherwise a warm and muggy night continues to be in store. Previously... Any leftover scattered showers and thunderstorms and Cu fields will diminish after sunset across portions of the region this evening. This will set the stage for a mainly clear and calm night with the exception of any leftover high level debris clouds moving across the region from time to time. A fog bank did form along the Downeast coast of Maine last night per latest satellite photos. This maritime moisture may redevelop once again and potentially push as far west as the Midcoast region. While this likelihood is not overly high, will just mention it for consideration in later updates. It will be a mild night with just about all areas dropping back into the 65 to 70 degree range. Patchy fog will develop during the late night and early morning hours.
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&& .SHORT TERM /6 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY/... The heat is on as the upper level ridge becomes fully established over the Northeast. Used a blend of guidance to arrive at mid to upper 90s across much of the region on Wednesday. Even coastal zones will be hazy, hot and humid just a few miles from the shoreline. Coolest areas, albeit still hot, will be across the higher terrain and along the immediate shoreline where winds will become onshore during the day. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will occur once again. This time around, precipitation will be possible anywhere across the forecast area. Patchy fog develops once again Wednesday night. A very mild night can be expected once again with many areas remaining in the lower 70s as dew points will be on the high side. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... Relief is in sight, but we`ll have one more day in the very hot stretch of hot and humid weather to contend with. Temperatures are again forecast to soar into the 90s across the area, and with dewpoints remaining in the upper 60s to lower 70s, heat indices are forecast to again reach the 95 to 105 degree range, possibly exceeding 105 degrees in some areas. A frontal boundary will also slowly sag southward through the area during the day with westerly flow likely enough to hold off the sea breeze, bringing these hot temperatures all the way to the immediate coast. This will likely prompt a continuation of heat headlines through the day on Thursday over portions of the area. The hot and humid conditions will also provide instability for showers and storms to develop as the front moves through, and some of the storms could be strong to severe with strong to damaging winds as the primary hazard. It`s possible there may be some hail as well, but freezing levels will be quite high. It will be still be warm on Friday, especially over southern NH, but will be much more manageable than the temps today- Thursday with the post-frontal air coming in. Highs are forecast to be in the mid- upper 80s for southern NH and the low-mid 80s for the rest of the area. There will also be a tight moisture gradient with the higher moisture across NH and this area has 30-50% chances for showers while chances decrease to the north and east. Although still running above normal for this time of year, temperatures will follow a cooling trend over the upcoming weekend as heights lower, flow aloft becomes more zonal, and more in the way of clouds are expected. In addition to this, dewpoints will also come down into the 50s for most of the area on Saturday (except lower 60s in southern NH) before creeping back upward into the 60s on Sunday. Highs on Saturday are forecast to be in the upper 70s to lower 80s, and these may increase by another couple of degrees by Sunday as southerly flow starts increasing ahead of a cold front. This is certainly good news after the hot weather this week. There is another chance for shower late Saturday into Saturday night as energy aloft moves overhead, but due to confidence have stuck with NBM of 40-50% at this time. A better chance for more widespread precip and possibly a few storms arrives late Sunday and into Monday as a more potent upper trough pushes a cold front through New England. Assuming the front pushes through as advertised (decent agreement in the models this far), we should see drying conditions by next Tuesday or so. && .AVIATION /03Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Short Term...Mainly VFR condition with the exception of a brief shower or thunderstorm this evening across the north and west. Patchy fog with localized IFR conditions. VFR tomorrow with the exception of an isolated shower or thunderstorm. Long Term...Mainly VFR outside of precipitation Thursday. A cold front will be pushing through the area on Thursday, and scattered showers and storms could bring brief MVFR to IFR restrictions. For, Friday and Saturday, precip chances look lower overall, but the better chances will be across the NH terminals. A cold front approaches Sunday into Monday with chances for widespread precip and restrictions. && .MARINE... Short Term...Winds increase out of the south to southwest gusting to 20 kt tonight through Wednesday night, just below SCA thresholds. Long Term...A weak frontal boundary approaches from the north on Thursday with winds out of the southwest to west out initially, but these will shift to the N/NE Thursday night behind the front. Conditions are expected to remain below SCA levels. However, will have to watch for offshore-moving showers and storms on Thursday. Broad high pressure remains over the waters Friday and Saturday before southerly flow potentially exceeds SCA levels Sunday into Monday as a cold front approaches. && .CLIMATE... Record breaking high temperatures and warm overnight low temperatures are likely Tuesday through Friday of next week. Here are the records... RECORD HIGHS FOR JUNE 19: Concord-98, 1995 Augusta-98, 1995 Portland- 94, 1995 RECORD HIGHS FOR JUNE 20: Concord-98, 1993 Augusta-95, 1953 Portland- 93, 2020 && .GYX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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ME...Heat Advisory from noon to 8 PM EDT Wednesday for MEZ007>009- 022>028. Excessive Heat Warning from noon to 8 PM EDT Wednesday for MEZ012>014-018>021-033. NH...Heat Advisory from noon to 8 PM EDT Wednesday for NHZ001>003- 005-007-011-014. Excessive Heat Warning from noon to 8 PM EDT Wednesday for NHZ004-006-008>010-012-013-015. MARINE...None.
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