January has been a lackluster month for snowfall.

Other than one stronger storm in central Maine and a couple days of light snow, the pattern has settled on mild temperatures and calm days.

I don’t think these numbers will change much after Saturday, given the warm air with this storm.

The storm approaches with increasing clouds overnight Friday.

By Saturday morning, showers will start to edge in.

The first spots to see showers are York and Oxford counties.

At the onset, there could be mixing even in southern areas. This will likely be snow for the mountains.

Between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., heavier rain at the coast will move in.

The heaviest rain for Portland is likely in the late  morning. Augusta and Lewiston could start as a bit of a wintry mix before the warm air wins and rain takes over.

Rain progresses east through the day while snow continues in the mountains. Heavy rain is more likely through the Midcoast in the afternoon. The heavy rain will also bring stronger wind gusts.

Drier air will filter in late in the afternoon. Some snow showers may continue in the mountains and across The County, but most will see showers wrap up in the later afternoon and early evening.

Good news: forecast wind gusts are below the “widespread outage” threshold by a decent margin! The highest gusts will likely be along the Midcoast and Downeast, where gusts between 45 and 50 mph are possible. Elsewhere, gusts will stay in the 35-45 mph range.

It’s worth noting that a few isolated power issues are possible, but I don’t think the outage numbers will be too high at all.

Here’s the moment you’ve been waiting for…the snowfall forecast.

Any peaks in the 3-6″ range that are over 2,500 feet should get decent totals. I would expect a few of these peaks to get over a foot of snow, by the time all is said and done.

Along Route 2, expect lower amounts since mixing eventually takes hold.

South of that, it could start as mix but the rain wins.

It will only be rain at the coastline.

Expect rain totals of 1-1.5″ by Saturday night. Snow totals, if melted down, should end up the equivalent of 1-1.5″ of liquid.

Sunday will be blustery with temperatures falling later in the day. Snow continues in the mountains, but the colder air should yield much fluffier snow. Some of the high peaks might get another few inches of accumulation out of it.

Beyond that, the next storm to watch is Wednesday.

For the latest and greatest in the world of Maine weather, follow me on Twitter, @MikeSliferWX.

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