Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME

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023 FXUS61 KCAR 170920 AFDCAR Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Caribou ME 520 AM EDT Mon Jun 17 2024 .SYNOPSIS...
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High pressure will slide south of the region today into Tuesday and remain to our south on Wednesday. A cold front will cross the area Thursday followed by high pressure on Friday.
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&& .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
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High pressure sliding to our south combined with a strong upper level ridge building over the Mid-Atlantic region will push a warm front into the area from the west today. An area of light rain associated with overrunning as the warm front approaches will cross the St. Lawrence Valley and then dissipate as it moves into our highlands around midday. Some scattered light showers may reach the highlands around midday or early afternoon. From there, any leftover rain will taper off with only a slight chance for a shower further east as the moisture collapses under subsidence from the upper high. This will leave most of our area mostly cloudy with only isolated showers today. Increasingly humid air will begin to push into the area following the warm front later today into tonight. Otherwise, tonight will be partly cloudy and not as cool with lows in the upper 50s to near 60 inland.
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&& .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/...
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Very anomalous high pres alf will cont building over Nrn New Eng and the Can Maritimes thru Tue, reaching max amplitude by Wed Aftn at which tm, 500mb hts reach into the lower to mid 590s, at this tm, something more typical of the desert SW. This pattern is being driven by deep anomalous upper troughing ovr the Wrn U.S. The result of this pattern will be sharp warming with rising dwpts on Tue. Models are not in agreement with the potential of any shwr/tstms across far Nrn ptns of the FA later Tue Aftn into Tue Ngt as a very weak upper lvl disturbance crosses ovr the upper high as it is amplifying. The dtmnstc 00z ECMWF and to a somewhat lesser xtnt the 00z CanGem keep the s/wv and any shwr/tstm activity N of the FA, with the mid atmos already becmg capped to allow much in the way of cnvctn durg this tm pd. The 00z GFS and NAM are a little slower amplifying the upper high durg this tm frame, allowing for some cnvctn clipping far Nrn areas. For now, we compromised between these two model camps and brought chc tstms to NW and far NE ptns of the FA later Tue Aftn/Eve, but believe capping will likely win the battle durg this tm frame. In any event, any shwrs/tstms affecting Nrn ptns of the FA should end late Tue Ngt. This will allow mstly to ptly sunny skies on Wed when the upper high is strongest, definitely capping shwrs/tstms. After very warm low temps and humid conditions Tue Ngt, temps across the Rgn Wed will soar well into the 90s ovr all inland low trrn lctns, with an aftn sea breeze cooling the immediate Downeast coast. Downsloping winds spcly ovr the N hlf of the FA will result in temps nearly reaching and perhaps even exceeding values seen on this date in 2020. Alf, the upper ridge/high is sig stronger than Jun 19th 2020, but the air mass residence is somewhat in question, with some of the continental drier trop air from the desert SW being entrained by more humid Gulf of Mex tropical air. Subsequently, 925 temps max out at +27 deg C Wed Aftn, about a deg cooler than Jun 19th 2020. However, xtra compression from a stronger upper high could result in higher llvl lapse rates, allowing for temps to reach and even exceed highs seen on Jun 19th 2020. The First sig chk point on this potential will be high temps ovr E Cntrl Ont Prov Tue Aftn. Wed Ngt will be fair and very, very warm with Thu morn lows likely being the warmest of record across the N, if it were not for a cold frontal passage xpctd mid Aftn thru erly Eve Thu.
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&& .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...
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Longer range models begin to slowly weaken the upper high ovr New Eng Wed Ngt into Thu. Still though, the High will remain strong enough to slow the passage of a cold front from Cntrl Can until the Aftn hrs for Nrn areas til erly Eve for Downeast areas as a weak flat s/wv tops and suppresses the upper high ovr Srn New Eng and the Mid Atlc states. High temps will be warmest ovr Cntrl and Downeast areas where mid to upper 90s will again be common, with high temps even hot nearly to the beaches of Downeast Maine with with the sfc pres grad a little more off shore. High temps ovr the N were also raised a couple of deg F reflecting a slower cold frontal passage. Sct shwrs and tstms will accompany the cold frontal passage, but with only modest cooling alf CAPEs will likely be long and skinny, suggesting lcly heavy downpours and some gusty winds with stronger tstms. Shwrs and tstms will dissipate late Thu Ngt as the cold front moves offshore across the Gulf of ME, with cooler temps by erly Fri Morn for our FA. After msly fair and cooler temps Fri, long range models vary on the weekend with some like the 00z GFS keeping the region contd dry on Sat, why others bring shwrs with possible aftn/eve tstms, while others like the 00z ECMWF keeping Sat msly dry, holding off on any shwrs til Sun. Again, we took a middle ground bringing a low chc of shwrs Sat and higher chc on Sun.
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&& .AVIATION /04Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
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NEAR TERM: VFR conditions are expected today and tonight with a south wind around 5 to 10 kt today and less than 5 kt tonight. SHORT TO LONG TERM: Tue - Fri...mainly VFR all TAF sites. Isold late aftn/erly eve shwrs/tstms Nrn TAF sites Tue and Isold-sct shwrs/tstms Thu Aftn and Erly Eve with brief MVFR clgs/vsbys. Lgt winds.
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&& .MARINE...
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NEAR TERM: Wind and seas will remain below SCA today and tonight with light winds and seas over the offshore waters around 3 ft today and 4 ft tonight. A bit of mist or light fog may begin to move over the waters tonight as more humid air moves in. SHORT TO LONG TERM: Winds and wvs will cont to remain below SCA thresholds thru these ptns of the fcst. Went with a blend of wv model guidance for fcst wv hts. Wvs will be composed of two spectral groups; a shorter 6-8sec pd group and a 10-12sec pd swell group. The potential of oceanic fog increases for spcly the outer waters Wed - Thu Eve as blyr dwpts increase well abv water temps.
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&& .CLIMATE...
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Temperatures will soar under an anomalously upper level high pressure system mid week, challenging record high temperatures and record max minimum temperatures. Multiple days of record breaking temperatures will lead to dangerous heat without a chance for reprieve overnight. June 19th High Temperature Records: (Forecast) Caribou (96)96 in 2020 Bangor (96)95 in 1995 Millinocket (97)95 in 2020 Houlton (96)95 in 2020 June 20th Max Minimum Temperature Records: (Forecast) Caribou (69)68 in 1970 Bangor (72)72 in 1931 Millinocket (73)69 in 1923 Houlton (71)67 in 1976 June 20th High Temperature Records: (Forecast) Caribou (92) 93 in 2020 Bangor (97) 95 in 2020 Millinocket (95) 96 in 2020 Houlton (94) 94 in 2020 All-time Record Highs: (Forecast, Day) Caribou (96 June 19)96 in June 2020 Bangor (97 June 20)104 in August 1935 Millinocket(97 June 19) 101 in June 1907 Houlton (96 June 19)99 August 1975 All-time Record Max Minimum Temperature Records: (Forecast, Day) Caribou (70 June 19)71 in July 2018 Bangor (72 June 20)77 in August 1949 Millinocket(73 June 20)80 in July 1912 Houlton (69 June 20)72 in August 2009
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&& .CAR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ME...None. MARINE...None. && $$ Near Term...Bloomer Short Term...VJN Long Term...VJN Aviation...Bloomer/VJN Marine...Bloomer/VJN Climate...VJN