Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Blue Hill, ME

NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/
A cold front associated with a low pressure system well north of Maine is crossing the region early this morning. There will be some leftover rain showers with this front early this morning across the North. The front will clear the entire region no later than mid-morning. Behind the front, the pressure gradient will increase as high pressure builds in from the west. The result will be west to northwest winds gusting 30-40 mph. Some locally higher gusts are possible in the higher terrain today.
Strong cold air advection will prevent temperatures from rising much from the Central Highlands northward. Downsloping flow will allow the Bangor region and Downeast to see high temperatures approach 60 degrees.

Given the dry air mass behind the front, opted to blend in the NBM 10th percentile for dew point temperatures this afternoon.
This results in forecast minimum relative humidity values of 20 to 30 percent across the area this afternoon. Please see the Fire Weather section for more details.

Winds will gradually diminish tonight as high pressure begins to build in and daytime heating is lost. Although skies will be mostly clear, not expecting winds to drop off enough for ideal radiational cooling. That said, felt confident enough to go a bit below NBM guidance for low temperatures tonight. Lows tonight will be in the mid to upper 20s in the colder northern valleys, with lower to mid 30s elsewhere.

SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/
High pressure remains over Maine Thursday into Friday, before moving east into the Atlantic. Dry air leads to clear skies, and temperatures rising into the high 50s throughout northern Maine.
Light winds from the west. Low pressure in the low-levels over the Great Lakes moves northeast into Quebec, advecting in some moisture and clouds. Precipitation chances creep in from west to east Thursday night. Low temperatures in the low-40s.

Low pressure gets closer to the Maine border on Friday. Winds may gust a bit due to pressure gradient associated with the low.
Rain showers forecast for all of northern Maine through the weekend. Highs on Friday forecast to be in the low 50s. With winds diminishing and high relative humidity, possibility for patchy fog along the coast. Overnight lows in the high-40s.

LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
Low pressure continues to move northeast into Canada this weekend, bring rain showers through Sunday morning. High pressure moves into the mid-west, leading to some dry conditions on Monday. Next chance of precipitation moves in in the middle of the week next week, with some model disagreement. The GFS shows a low system in the Atlantic lingers over waters beginning on Tuesday through the middle of the week. The EURO, however, shows a low system approaching New England. Continue to monitor the forecast for updates Highs in the 50s/60s in the long term period, and lows generally in the 30s/40s.

AVIATION /07Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/
NEAR TERM: MVFR possible through 10-11z at Aroostook terminals with low cigs following a frontal passage. Otherwise, VFR through today and tonight at All Terminals. S winds 5-15 kts through 08-10z, then becoming NW. Winds NW 10-20 kts today, gusting 25-35 kts at times. NW winds diminish tonight.

SHORT TERM: Thursday...VFR conditions. Winds from the NW shifting to the S by evening, at 5-10kts.

Thursday night.. MVFR/IFR conditions due to rain showers. Winds from the S at 5-10kts.

Friday and Friday night.. MVFR/IFR conditions due to rain.
Winds from the S/SE at 5-10 kts, gusting 20-25 kts. Potential for patchy fog Friday night at southern terminals.

Saturday.. MVFR conditions due to light rain showers. S wind becoming W in the afternoon at 5-10 kts.

Saturday night through Sunday.. MVFR conditions as rain lingers in the area. S wind 5 to 10kts becoming W/NW. Gusts up to 20 kt possible Sunday.

MARINE
NEAR TERM: A Gale Warning remains in effect for the outer waters through 12z this morning. Potential exists for wind gusts up to 35 kts with a cold frontal passage. Winds then shift NW and diminish to SCA levels through the day today. A Small Craft Advisory remains in effect for the intra-coastal waters through 12z this morning, and may need to be extended. Winds and seas will subside below SCA criteria by this evening on all waters.

SHORT TERM: Winds and seas stay below Small Craft Advisory conditions Thursday through Friday morning. Friday winds and seas begin to creep up towards Small Craft Advisory until Saturday. Rain showers Thursday night through Sunday. Winds from the NW shifting to the S by Friday.

FIRE WEATHER
Dry and windy weather is expected today in the wake of a cold front. Winds are expected to gust 30-40 mph over much of the area today, with locally higher gusts over the higher terrain.
Relative humidity values will bottom out in the 20 to 30 percent range over much of the region. Some rain fell overnight with a passing cold front, though not everywhere. High temperatures today will be in the upper 40s to near 50 degrees from the North Woods into the Saint John Valley. Highs will be in the lower to mid 50s from the Central Highlands into eastern Aroostook County. Expect upper 50s to lower 60s for highs near Bangor and Downeast. We will continue to monitor temperature, wind, and relative humidity trends as the day progresses.

CLIMATE
Record high temperatures were tied or broken yesterday (April 29th) in some locations across the north. Records were not broken across the south where the records are higher.

April 29th Record High Temperatures (Previous record):

Caribou 75F (75F in 1986)
Houlton 76F (73F in 1984)

CAR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
ME...None.
MARINE...Gale Warning until 8 AM EDT this morning for ANZ050-051.
Small Craft Advisory until 8 AM EDT this morning for ANZ052.