PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) – Good evening everyone and happy Friday. After seeing more sunshine during the day today, hazy skies caused by wildfire smoke became the main theme again. Wildfire smoke attempted to move westward this afternoon, but is expected to settle back over the region later tonight. That means more hazy sunshine is in the forecast for tomorrow while high pressure continues to dictate our weather. A low pressure system and cold front are approaching the region for the second half of the weekend, bringing more cloud cover to the forecast for Sunday. Cloud cover will persist, and showers will not begin until late Monday, while a cold front will bring showers and possible storms into the forecast for Monday night into Tuesday.
An hourly look at the rest of the night shows that skies will remain clear across the country. A few fair weather clouds will form in the early hours of Saturday, but it will be hard to tell as the atmosphere is hazy. Lows tonight will be a few degrees warmer than last night, continuing the warming trend. Lows tonight are expected to be below 15 degrees in most places, with a few above 10 degrees possible just before sunrise. Southerly winds are expected to remain light during the overnight hours, meaning they will not significantly affect the overall weather forecast.
Heavy smoke and haze have settled back over the region this evening as the smoke plume in the upper atmosphere has settled back over the region. That means another hazy, sunny day is expected tomorrow, along with possible air quality concerns. Air quality is harder to pin down because it’s hard for computer models to detect smoke in general, let alone where it is in the atmosphere. We were lucky earlier in the week that the smoke didn’t have a major impact on air quality. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is forecasting moderate air quality for the weekend and early next week. That forecast is subject to change, so be sure to monitor air quality if you’re in the group more sensitive to air quality concerns.
Saturday is expected to be the better of the two weekend days with more sunshine expected. Some fair weather clouds as well as isolated to scattered showers could move in and pass through Saturday afternoon, but the greatest likelihood of this will be in the northern and western parts of the county. Highs tomorrow will be a few degrees warmer than today, with afternoon highs reaching the low 27s. Southerly winds are expected to still be light during the day, meaning afternoon temperatures are more likely to rise.
Sunday will see more cloud cover than Saturday. An approaching low pressure system and cold front will attempt to move into the region. However, the high pressure system currently dominating our weather and Hurricane Ernesto will work together to keep the cold front from arriving until Friday afternoon. With mostly cloudy skies expected, highs on Sunday are expected to be lower than Saturday. Highs will only reach 24 to 25 degrees in the afternoon. A stronger southerly wind on Sunday will help keep the warmer air in despite the lack of sunshine.
For more information on the chance of rain next week, as well as air quality concerns over the weekend, please see this evening’s web weather page attached to this article. Have a great weekend!
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