Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME
632 FXUS61 KCAR 031830 AFDCAR Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Caribou ME 130 PM EST Tue Nov 3 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... - Expected precipitation over northern areas has increased slightly. Up to 1 inch is now possible. && .KEY MESSAGES... 1) Rain continues through Wednesday morning. Some drought relief is possible across Northern Maine with amounts up to 1 inch. 2) Additional rainfall expected Thursday into the weekend, though exact timing and amounts are still uncertain. The rainfall could provide some drought relief. && .DISCUSSION... KEY MESSAGE 1... Rain continues through Wednesday morning. Some drought relief is possible across Northern Maine with amounts up to 1 inch. KEY MESSAGE 1 DESCRIPTION... A stationary front is currently stalled over the area resulting in light rain over much of central Maine. Light rain is expected to continue through tonight and become more steady as a northern stream shortwave trough approaches from the west, providing additional lift along the boundary as it pushes north as a warm front through Wednesday. Precipitation should end early tomorrow morning in southern areas but may linger through the early afternoon in far northern Maine. The greatest precipitation amounts are expected to be in northern Maine where totals should approach 1 inch in correlation with where the greatest forcing associated with the northern stream trough will be. Progressively lesser amounts further south with only around 0.1 inches in the Bangor and Downeast areas. Some limited drought relief is expected over northern areas but will not be enough to end the significant deficit. KEY MESSAGE 2... Additional rainfall expected Thursday into the weekend, though exact timing and amounts are still uncertain. The rainfall could provide some drought relief. KEY MESSAGE 2 DESCRIPTION... High pressure will be located southeast of the Gulf of Maine Thursday while an occluded front crosses the region. At the same time, low pressure will move northeast from Great Lakes along a cold front. The return flow between the high and occluded front will help draw moisture northward across the region with precipitable water values increasing to 1.25 to 1.50 inches. Expect a chance of rain across mostly northern and western portions of the forecast area Thursday. The cold front will approach the Saint Lawrence Valley Thursday night. A slight chance/chance of rain or showers will linger Thursday night. An upper low approaches from the Great Lakes Friday helping support a developing coastal low, though the exact location of the developing low is still uncertain. The better chances of rain later Friday will occur across Downeast area. The upper/surface lows should approach Friday night. Steadier rain should begin to expand northward across the region Friday night. The surface low lifts across the region Saturday into Saturday night with the area of rain lifting across the forecast area. The low lifts north of the forecast area Sunday. Showers wrapping around the low could persist across the region Sunday. Precipitation totals Thursday through Sunday remain uncertain dependent on the track and evolution of the system. && .AVIATION /18Z TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... Through Tonight...Generally MVFR this afternoon, decreasing to IFR 22-00z tonight in light rain. 30% chance of LIFR conditions, greatest at northern terminals. Light S/SE winds tonight around 5 kts southern terminals and 5 to 10 kts northern terminals. Some LLWS cannot be ruled out late but too low confidence to include in TAF. Wednesday...Quick improvement to VFR by about 14z at southern terminals in the morning while northern terminals remain IFR until late morning, becoming MVFR early afternoon. Light rain persists into the early afternoon. SW winds 5 to 10 kts. Some LLWS cannot be ruled out early but too low confidence to include in TAF. Wednesday night...VFR. Light and variable winds. Thursday...VFR/MVFR, occasional IFR. A chance of rain. South/southeast winds3 5 to 10 knots, becoming south 10 to 15 knots with gusts up to around 20 knots. Low level wind shear possible. Thursday night...MVFR/IFR, occasional LIFR. A slight chance/chance of rain or showers. South/southwest winds 5 to 10 knots. Low level wind shear possible. Friday...MVFR/IFR. A chance of rain, particularly Downeast. South/southwest winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming variable. Friday night through Saturday...MVFR/IFR, occasional LIFR. Rain. Variable winds 5 to 10 knots. Saturday night...VFR/MVFR, occasional IFR. Rain tapering to showers. Variable winds 5 to 10 knots. Sunday...VFR/MVFR. A slight chance/chance of rain showers. Variable winds 5 to 10 knots, becoming southwest/south 10 to 15 knots. && .MARINE... From tonight through Wednesday night, sustained winds should generally be 15kt or less and seas 4 ft or less over all waters. SE winds tonight become SW Wednesday. Small craft advisory conditions are possible later Thursday into Thursday night. A chance of rain Thursday night, then rain Friday. && .CAR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ME...None. MARINE...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...SM/CN AVIATION...SM/CN