Cold And Windy Friday

Remember last Friday when the high was 70 degrees?    I can say with confidence, there will not be a repeat this Friday.   A strong cold front is  approaching from the west. The air mass behind it is diving south straight out of the Arctic Circle.

The arctic front will pass through the area between 1am and 7am.  That feature will touch off rain showers for most of the area with snow showers and squall confined to the hills and mountains.

More importantly, in the wake of the front, winds will abruptly shift northwest and increase gusting 30 to 40 mph.  Temperatures will  plummet during the course of the morning as well.

The high for Friday will be before the sun rises.  Expect afternoon temperatures to be around 30 degrees.

With winds gusting over 30 mph, I anticipate wind chills to be in the teens for most locations.

Early night time wind chills will dip into the single digits for some locations.  That’s going to make for some frigid high school playoff football games.

There has been lots of buzz about all the Maine and New Hampshire ski resorts making snow this week. Mountains that will be opening with lift service this weekend include Sunday River, Sugarloaf, Wildcat, and Bretton Woods.  Just a little bit of natural snow is expected. The upslopers will benefit the most. Bretton Woods and often Wildcat make out best in these situations.

Early morning lows on Saturday will be in the teens for most of Southern and Central Maine.  Breezy northwesterly winds will will be with us most of the day with afternoon highs struggling to reach 40 degrees.   Saturday night will be another unusually cold November night with lows once again dipping into the teens. Some single digits can’t be ruled out  inland and mountains.   Highs will make a run at the low 40s late in the weekend and you’ll likely notice more clouds that day as well.  A storm should pass south of our area early next week. The track and intensity is still uncertain but based on today’s forecast, it should be a miss in Maine.  We will however see clouds with the chance for showers early next week. Stay tuned.

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.