April threw southern Maine a winter snowball Tuesday with snow that accumulated on the grassy surfaces. The Portland International Jetport only needs just one-tenth of an inch of measurable snow for it to be the snowiest April 26 on record. Snow accumulating this late isn’t a record, but we are at the far end of the curve for when it does snow. The snow will end between 3 and 5 p.m depending on where you are located. Look for cold weather overnight with a freeze.
There’s a frontal boundary to our south with chilly air over us all afternoon, and mild air to the south of the front. This has been the focal point for the snow Tuesday and some rain south. It’s going to look wintry through the evening on the ground, even as the snow stops. It’s really difficult to get snow on roadways five days before May begins, and plowing this time of year would be exceptional.
Accumulations have been on the grass in areas that are getting snow.
Portland
Temperatures Tuesday are going to feel colder in the afternoon as temperatures fall. If you turned off your heat already, my guess is you’ll need to put it back on. I am thinking late-day readings in the 30s everywhere.
Harpswell
The moisture is a good thing, but we need much much more of it. Agriculturally, we are heading into a short-term drought, although longer term the amount of water in the reservoirs is still OK. This will need to be watched closely.
The storm system clears the area overnight and we are left with sunshine and seasonable temperatures the rest of the week and into the weekend.
While it was quite warm a few days ago, I don’t see any 70-degree air on the horizon. In order to get some prolonged mild weather, the jet stream needs to retreat into Canada farther and stay there for a while.
The outlook for the first week or so of May keeps the bulk of the warm air over the western part of the country with the odds favoring a cooler regime south of New England and fairly seasonable weather here.
Early May temperature outlook
The early May temperature predictions are, of course, averages, and this doesn’t mean we couldn’t have a warm day or two during this period. But a prolonged stretch of early warmth isn’t likely.
Rainfall is expected to be closer to normal the next couple of weeks, which is very important. As we head into the summer pattern later next month and into June, rainfall becomes much more sporadic and less predictable.
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