SANFORD — Thursday was a shirtsleeves day. It was a day to do yardwork in shorts and a T-shirt, walk the beach, or take the baby out in the stroller for a spin around the block.
By noon, the temperature was a balmy 67 degrees in Sanford and in Portland, where the warmth set a new record for the high temperature on the day ”“ the old record was 55 degrees in Portland, said meteorologist Jim Mansfield of the National Weather Service office in Gray.
Convertibles cruised down the streets with their tops down and motorcycles revved at the intersections, their drivers taking advantage of the sun and warmth for one more ride before winter’s inevitable blast.
A year ago, Dec. 3, 2008, the Sanford high temperature was 41 degrees, said Jim Mansfield.
“This is very unusual,” said Mansfield of Thursday’s temperature.
Today, its not expected to be quite as warm, with the high temperatures expected to top out in the high 40s or low 50s, with lows in the 20s overnight in inland York County.
And the area’s first snow could arrive Saturday night, though less than one-tenth of an inch is forecast.
Looking ahead to the winter, Farmer’s Almanac managing editor Sandi Duncan has some observations.
The Farmer’s Almanac, published in Lewiston, makes their long-range weather predictions two years in advance, using top-secret “mathematical and astronomical formula, taking sunspot activity, tidal action, the position of the planet, and many other factors into consideration,” according to its Web site.
In a telephone interview Thursday, managing editor Sandi Duncan said the 2010 forecast shows the country like a sandwich, with more average winter temperatures on both coasts, with cold and snow in the middle of the country.
“Overall it will be cold and snowy, but not as bad as the past few years,” she said.
She said it doesn’t look like there will be much snow in Maine in December with the best chance of snow coming in January.
For Dec. 16 to 19 for example, the prediction is for mild days and chilly nights.
February, however, could be different.
Duncan said the Farmer’s Almanac, published annually since 1818, is predicting a blizzard in Maine Feb. 12 to 15.
The National Weather Service’s outlook for the next three months is not yet available.
In the short term however, Mansfield said more seasonable temperatures are forecast for next week in York County, with highs approaching 40 degrees.
All this of course, leads up to that old-time Maine phrase: “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.”
— Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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