Out Like A Lion/ April Fools No Joke

Here we go again.  The forecast remain on track for plowable snow Friday night through Saturday. It unfortunately is not an April fools joke.

Timing: Snow develops during the evening Friday. 4PM to 8PM timeframe. Snow will arrive earlier in NH and later Downeast and northern ME. The storm will extend through Saturday coming to an end at some point during the afternoon.


Type: Temperatures look marginal across the area,  but should remain cold enough for an all snow or mostly snow event for the region. The greatest chance for a change to sleet and rain will be south and coast Saturday morning. Consistency of snow will not be fluffy and dry. A 7:1 to 10:1 snow to water ratio should give it a wet and pasty consistency.

How Much:  Snowfall accumulations remain tricky with this storm due to a variety of variables. Track, temperature, and March sun angle to name a few.  It looks like most of the area will pick up about 5-10″ through Saturday evening. Parts of NH and Western Maine may see slightly higher amounts. Those totals will drop off significantly over eastern and norther parts of Maine.  See snow map below

Wind: Winds will not play a huge role in this storm as they are expected to remain 10 to 15 mph with gusts to 20 to 25 mph. Since snow consistency is expected to be heavy and wet, it might not take much wind to break weak tree branches.

Power Outages: Given the wet and pasty consistency of the snow, power outages are possible and mostly on Saturday.

Coastal Flooding: Tides are running astronomically high Friday morning and Saturday morning. The high tide at 1:52 AM Friday is 11.1’. The good news is the storm won’t get going until Friday evening-Friday night. Minor coastal flooding ,splash over , and beach erosion is possible at that high tide. Flood stage in Portland is 12’. The next high tide of concern is at 2:43AM Saturday. That tide is running astronomically high at 11.0’. Minor coastal flooding is possible at that high tide. Other tides to monitor are Friday afternoon 2:26. 10.3’ and Saturday afternoon 3:21. 9.9’. Stay tuned for updates.

Stay tuned in the coming days as any shift in track will change this forecast. You can get updates through
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Charlie Lopresti

About Charlie Lopresti

Charlie makes up the "Weather Part" of CBS News 13s evening edition. A native New Englander, he grew up enjoying the area's exciting and sometimes wild weather.