A major April storm arrives in Maine Wednesday evening, ramping up overnight. Heavy snow, high winds and power outages will bring big disruptions Thursday.
The daytime hours of Wednesday will be mainly quiet. We’ll see cloudy skies through the day with highs near 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The snowstorm will start later in the evening.
Timing
The storm gets going between 4 and 9 p.m. Wednesday. It may start as light rain or sleet but will quickly switch to snow.
Snow and wind really pick up overnight, heaviest between 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. Thursday.
Snow will gradually lighten up heading into Thursday evening.
Light rain and snow showers then linger for Friday and into Saturday, but the worst of the storm is mostly on Thursday.
Totals
The totals will be very impressive, with most of the area seeing more than a foot. The northern half of York County looks to be a bullseye, with 18 inches or more possible there and into the mountains.
Even along the coast, significant accumulations of a half foot to a foot or more of snow are possible.
Wind
Winds will be ramping up Wednesday evening heading into the night. They will be strongest along the coast.
With the winds roaring Thursday morning, parts of Maine may see near blizzard conditions.
Gusts are expected to top off around 45 to 55 mph through the morning. Very low visibility and widespread power issues are expected.
Coastal
While coastal flooding isn’t at the top of the headlines for this storm, some splashover or minor flooding is possible during high tide about 7:30 a.m. Thursday.
After the bulk of the storm moves through Thursday, the storm lingers but gradually weakens for Friday. We’ll see rain showers outside the mountains Friday with additional snow in the mountains. Saturday looks similar with continued showers and temperatures in the 30s or around 40.
Accumulations of snow beyond the main part of the storm Thursday look minimal outside the mountains. In the mountains, the snow will continue to add up with a few more additional inches.
Solar eclipse
After we get through the snowstorm, nice weather returns Sunday and continues into Monday.
All indications are that we’ll be sunny and mild for the solar eclipse, with temperatures possibly nearing 60 degrees in some towns.
It’s shaping up to be a life changing event here in Maine with some of the best viewing weather in the country.
