At WCSH we have a camera person who is the most dedicated Irish man I've ever met. He calls every man under 50 "laddie" and makes corn beef and cabbage randomly...while being fully aware it's not truly a native Irish dish. He's got the nationality on lock. (He also loves him some Guinness but he'd be mad if I listed that first). Anyhow, we brought up a good point last week, "St. Patrick's Day is an indicator of spring, laddie. Some years it's snowing, other years it's 70 and sunny." He's dead on in my estimation, forget that groundhog from PA...mid March is often a turning point between a long winter and a short one (by Maine standards).
In which case...winter's OVA.
Today will be the beginning of the warm up within the warmup (I say this because we've been running above average since after our March 1st snowstorm). High pressure will build overhead from Canada and bring us mostly sunny conditions after any early fog burns off. The entire state will get into the mid 50s pretty easily, but inland locations could peak in the low 60s away from the afternoon sea breeze. That sea breeze, by the way, is a lock since the ocean is lingering in the 40s and the surface wind is light. (You need a stiff west or southwest wind to "beat back" the sea breeze circulation this time of the year).
Tonight will be partly cloudy over northern Maine, but mostly clear over the south. Either way it will be quiet with temperatures bottoming out between 35 and 40 degrees.
Sunday should be mostly sunny once again but a bit warmer as a southwest wind begins to kick in. Look for widespread readings in the mid 60s, with southwestern Maine reaching the low 70s. The sea breeze is less of a certainty on Sunday, but there is still a chance it could cool down the coast by the afternoon.
Monday is the most challenging forecast day as a backdoor cold front will be positioned somewhere in Maine. Some computer models keep it only over northern Maine while others push it all the way towards the NH/MA border. Right now I'm splitting the middle and saying the front stalls over the Midcoast. As a result look for temperatures in the low 50s and some showers there. Meanwhile southern Maine should still pop into the 60s with partly sunny skies. I'll watch this as we get closer because these backdoor cold fronts aren't handled too well by the computer models.
By Tuesday we should go back to a strong southwest flow with mostly sunny skies. Temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday will easily reach the low 70s away from the coastline. Wednesday is likely the warmest day, as the winds will be the strongest, and highs in the upper 70s can't be ruled out.
Thursday will likely be the last truly warm day as a cold front sweeps through on Friday. Even after that front, however, temperatures should remain in the 50s.