-- Discussion containing changed information from previous version are highlighted. --
681
FXUS61 KGYX 162016
AFDGYX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Gray ME
316 PM EST Thu Jan 16 2025

.SYNOPSIS...
-- Changed Discussion --
A weak warm front will bring chances for flurries tonight with
otherwise dry weather Friday into Saturday morning. A frontal
system will bring chances for rain showers and mountain snow
Saturday into Sunday morning. A wave of low pressure tracking
offshore will bring chances for light to moderate snow Sunday
night. An Arctic air mass arrives Tuesday through Thursday.
-- End Changed Discussion --

&&

.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
-- Changed Discussion --
Weak trof will pass the region tonight. Across central NY there
are some localized visibilities dropping to 2SM or lower...but
overall it is pretty light snow/snow shower activity. This will
skirt across southern portions of the forecast area
tonight...where I have slight chance to chance PoP. Accumulation
is fairly unlikely hence the low PoP. I did add some flurries to
the north of this...as there will probably be flakes in the air
but no hope of measuring any liquid equivalent.

Temps are a bit tricky however...as if clouds thin out they
could get quite cold again. For now I played it closer to
consensus guidance...with some single digits in the northern
valleys...but overall warmer than last night.
-- End Changed Discussion --

&&

.SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/...
-- Changed Discussion --
Upper forcing will focus a surface trof in the Gulf of ME Fri
with persistent snow showers hanging near the coast. While there
may be a few flurries along the coast most of the activity looks
out to sea. However depending on whether this trof forms
farther north near Monhegan or south near the Isles of Shoals
I could see an island picking up some light accumulations. For
now guidance is splitting the distance between the islands and
so for now this only looks like a maritime hazard.

Heading into Fri night WAA will be picking up ahead of the
approaching cold front. Opted for a largely non-diurnal temp
trend as warmer air pushes north...though a quick drop just
after sunset is possible before temps stabilize.
-- End Changed Discussion --

&&

.LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
-- Changed Discussion --
Overview: The continental scale pattern across North America during
the long term period will be dominated by a negative EPO with
persistent ridging in the NE Pacific into Alaska. A long wave trough
will remain downstream of this ridge across the central CONUS with
embedded waves bringing a couple of chances for precipitation late
Saturday into Sunday and Sunday night into Monday. Confidence is
high that an Arctic airmass will descend into the central CONUS and
spreads east behind the Monday system. Additional waves will
dive down the eastern flank of the persistent ridge through mid
week and depending on their trajectory around the trough, there
will be chances for additional winter systems late next week.
The pattern over the past two weeks has been one where these
systems miss to our south with the past few ensemble runs
favoring light precipitation events or misses out to sea.

Impacts:

*Light to moderate snow Sunday night into Monday will bring the
potential for slick travel through the Monday morning commute.

*An Arctic air mass arriving on northwest winds will bring wind
chills well below zero Monday night with wind chills around -25F
across northern zones. High temperatures will be restricted to the
teens and single digits through mid week with lows Tuesday night
dropping well below zero across much of the area.

Details: Saturday will be the warmest day of the forecast period
as warm air advection ahead of a cold front will bring highs
into the 30s and 40s. The approaching cold front will bring
mostly rain showers south of the mountains starting Saturday
afternoon and ending Sunday morning. In the mountains and north
thermal profiles will support mostly snow with accumulations of
1-3 inches. The cold will settle near the southern New England
coastline Sunday. Highs on Sunday will range from the 20s north
to 30s south.

The 12Z deterministic guidance and ensembles are showing signs
of consolidating around a solution for a wave of low pressure
tracking SE of Cape Cod Sunday night. Ensembles are loosely
clustering low locations around the 40N/70W benchmark. The multi
model consensus brings chances for light snow to overspread
much of the area with moderate accumulations possible across
southern NH and the coastal plain of Maine. Based off a general
northward shift and better agreement in the 12Z guidance have
nudged up PoPs vs the NBM for the Sunday night time frame.
Chances for snow will diminish through the day Monday. An Arctic
air mass will overtake much of the central CONUS and spreads
eastward into New England by Tuesday. Next week is
climatologically the coldest week of the year and it will likely
feel like it with highs in the teens to single digits and much
of the area seeing a couple nights with low well below zero.
-- End Changed Discussion --


&&

.AVIATION /19Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...
-- Changed Discussion --
Short Term...Widespread VFR conditions expected thru Fri night.
Some very light snow showers are possible this evening and
overnight across the southern portions of the forecast
area...but any VIS restrictions will be very localized with dry
air in place.

Long Term...Conditions deteriorate Saturday afternoon as -RA
and lower cigs overspread the region with KHIE and KLEB seeing
more in the way of -SN than -RA. Some improvement is possible
Sunday before low pressure bring -SN Sunday night into Monday.
VFR likely Monday afternoon through Tuesday.
-- End Changed Discussion --

&&

.MARINE...
-- Changed Discussion --
Short Term...Winds and seas are expected to remain below SCA
thresholds thru Fri night. A focused area of snow showers is
possible Fri...and visibility may drop to less than 1 mile in
these snow showers wherever they do end up forming. These will
gradually drift southeast towards Cashes Ledge thru the day.

Long Term...Southerly flow ahead of a cold front will likely
bring SCAs Saturday into Sunday morning. NNE winds increase
Sunday night as low pressure tracks near the Gulf of Maine.
Winds and seas likely remain above SCA thresholds Sunday night
through mid week. An Arctic airmass moving over the waters will
likely bring light to moderate freezing spray by Monday.
-- End Changed Discussion --

&&

.GYX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ME...None.
NH...None.
MARINE...None.

&&

$$

NEAR TERM...Legro
SHORT TERM...Legro
LONG TERM...Schroeter