Dry warm stretches in Maine are unusual in the 4th month of the year, but always appreciated. As a matter of course, even a day or two when we see sunshine and readings in the 60s thoroughly appreciated.
Today will be a typical day of April temperatures, warmest inland where the sea breeze doesn’t reach and cooler at the coast. Highs this afternoon over western York, Cumberland and Oxford counties will reach into the 60s and extreme southern sections will flirt with 70F.
Along the coast the southerly flow will cap temperatures in the 50s. It will be coolest within a mile or two of the water as temperatures slowly build as you head away from the coastline.
There is a cold front pushing east this evening and a band of showers will accompany this frontal system. These showers will not be heavy and I am expecting only a quarter inch of rain at most. Many areas will see even less.
Rainfall amounts, unless you have a rain gauge can be deceiving. During the growing season most gardens would benefit from an inch or so of water each week. If we don’t receive that amount of rainfall it’s a good idea to augment with well or municipal water.
During the spring and summer our rainfall starts to become more showery in nature. By the time we get to June the spread of rain is much less uniform across the region. The official rainfall in Portland might be very different than what you see at your house.
One of the best pieces of weather equipment you can have if you are growing anything is a rain gauge. These simple instruments simply collect the rain and tell you exactly how much you got. You can also use your rain gauge to measure the amount of water your sprinkler or irrigation system puts out per hour. This is very helpful is knowing how much water you or mother nature is giving the plants.
After our showers tonight skies will be slow to clear on Wednesday and with cooler readings it will not be the nicest of days. In the mountains there could be a few snow showers Wednesday night as the flow of air rises over the hillier terrain.
Sunshine does return for the end of the workweek with seasonable temperatures and light winds. Spring is certainly late this year as evidence by the lack of green right now. We need to see nighttime readings stay around 40F or higher before the plants really respond and start growing more rapidly.
I’ll be updating the forecast on Twitter @growingwisdom. Follow @growingwisdom
The weekend appears to be shaping up a bit unsettled which can be frustrating when you want to see sunshine and warm air. Maine will be sandwiched in between two weather systems creating a cool flow of air with an abundance of clouds and the risk of showers. I don’t expect this weekend to be a washout and climatologically it will be pretty typical for late April in Maine.
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