I went kayaking for the first time yesterday (I know, I know it's shocking that such a naturally athletic, strapping young man had yet to try this activity...), and I think I picked the wrong day to give it a shot. Winds picked up around 20 MPH out of the northwest and, combined with fighting the outgoing tide, made paddling an uphill battle (in a totally flat, water kinda way).
Winds will actually pick up a bit today, but the good news is the breeze will be the only drawback to an otherwise fabulous Sunday.
Today: High pressure in place means mostly sunny skies from start to finish today. Temperatures will stay in the 60s in most spots with just a few 70-71 readings across interior Maine. The winds I previously mentioned will gust up to 25 MPH at times out of the west-northwest and represent the biggest negative to the forecast.
Tonight: Clear and chilly. Low temperatures will actually be 1-2 F cooler than Saturday night, putting many spots in the upper 30s. There is a Frost Advisory in effect for northern Maine through tomorrow morning.
Monday: As the high pressure ridge shifts to a more "neutral" position (meaning directly overhead and not "pulling" air from the north or south) winds will settle and temperatures will warm up. Look for highs in the upper 60s to low 70s this time around but a continuation of the mostly sunny skies we grew accustomed to on Sunday.
Tuesday: A transition day between the departing ridge of high pressure and an approaching cold front. We should start sunny but end up mostly cloudy by around noon as clouds stream in ahead of the boundary. There COULD be a stray shower over the mountains in the afternoon but I'm inclined to keep the daylight hours dry for most of the state.
Tuesday night/Wednesday: Periods of heavy rain. The cold front will finally start to move through, but it won't be your run of the mill front. Instead it will be "juiced" up with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. This connection will allow the system to drop a widespread 1"-2" of rain across the state with locally higher amounts certainly possible. Right now it appears the heaviest rain will fall to our west, over VT and upstate NY, but I'll keep an eye on it..because that's what I do :-)
Thursday and Friday are still up for debate...I hate saying that but there's just no good way to forecast the scenario right now so I'd rather be honest. Basically the front from Wednesday will be offshore BUT some computer models are retrograding it (pushing it back west) in Maine again on Thursday afternoon through Friday. This solution would give us unsettled and cloudy weather through the end of the week. Other computer models pushing the front nicely out to sea and giving us dry weather for both days. My hunch? The unsettled solution will win out. It's the much touted and respected European model (Dr. No) that is advertising the showery scenario and I always trust Dr. No a bit more in the medium range.
Kayak Side Note: I will try it again, this time without the nasty headwind, HOWEVER I'll learn how to dock first. Yesterday, in the process of heading into port at full speed, I put my hand on the wooden dock to slow myself down and got a splinter approximately the size of a telephone pole in my left hand. Bad news: I can't get it all the way out. Good news: My wife is dying to jab me with sharp objects in the name of retrieving it.
Twitter: @KeithCarsonWCSH