Marine Weather Net

Casco Bay Marine Forecast


TODAY

NW
WINDS
15 - 20
KNOTS

TONIGHT

NW
WINDS
15 - 20
KNOTS

FRI

W
WINDS
5 - 10
KNOTS

FRI NIGHT

S
WINDS
10 - 15
KNOTS

The Marine Weather Forecast In Detail:
ANZ153 Forecast Issued: 326 AM EDT Thu Mar 30 2023

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING
Today...Nw Winds 15 To 20 Kt, Increasing To 20 To 25 Kt Late This Morning And Afternoon. Seas 2 To 4 Ft.
Tonight...Nw Winds 15 To 20 Kt, Becoming W 10 To 15 Kt After Midnight. Seas 2 To 3 Ft.
Fri...W Winds 5 To 10 Kt, Becoming S 10 To 15 Kt In The Afternoon. Seas Around 2 Ft. A Chance Of Rain In The Afternoon With Vsby 1 Nm Or Less.
Fri Night...S Winds 10 To 15 Kt With Gusts Up To 25 Kt. Seas 2 To 3 Ft. Rain. Vsby 1 Nm Or Less In The Evening.
Sat...S Winds 10 To 15 Kt With Gusts Up To 20 Kt, Increasing To 15 To 20 Kt With Gusts Up To 30 Kt In The Afternoon. Seas 3 To 5 Ft. Rain.
Sat Night...Sw Winds 15 To 20 Kt, Becoming W After Midnight. Gusts Up To 30 Kt. Seas 3 To 5 Ft. Showers, Mainly In The Evening.
Sun...Nw Winds 20 To 25 Kt With Gusts Up To 35 Kt, Diminishing To 15 To 20 Kt With Gusts Up To 25 Kt In The Afternoon. Seas 3 To 5 Ft.
Sun Night...Nw Winds 10 To 15 Kt With Gusts Up To 20 Kt, Becoming W 5 To 10 Kt After Midnight. Seas 2 To 4 Ft.
Mon...Sw Winds Around 10 Kt, Becoming S 15 To 20 Kt In The Afternoon. Seas 2 To 4 Ft.
Mon Night...S Winds 15 To 20 Kt, Becoming Sw 10 To 15 Kt After Midnight. Seas 2 To 4 Ft.
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Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Gray ME
328am EDT Thu Mar 30 2023

Synopsis
Snow showers come to an end early this morning as an arctic cold front crosses the region. Colder and blustery conditions are expected the rest of the day in the wake of the front. Low pressure tracking into the Great Lakes Friday and then through the St Lawrence Valley Saturday will bring a brief period of wintry precipitation Friday into Friday night that will become all rain Saturday. High pressure then builds in Sunday into Monday.

Near Term - Until 6pm This Evening
Arctic front crossing the region this early morning, and for the most part the more significant SHSN associated with have been focused in the mountains, and have weakened a bit. Still can’t rule out a SHSN before dawn across warning ME, but should be done in NH, at least until upslope starts in the mtns in a few hours. The rest of today should see mainly sunny skies outside the mtns, with gusty NW winds / to around 35 mph, and temps running a good 10F below normal, mainly in the mid-upper 20s in the mtns to the mid to upper 30s in the S. So, it will feel more like February than late March.

Short Term - 6pm This Evening Through 6pm Friday
The wind dies off this evening as surface highs builds in from the west and crests across the CWA (County Warning Area) Fri morning. Should be mainly clear, and with slackening winds, decoupling will occur, especially during the latter part of the night. This, combined with cold air mass in place, should allow for cold night in some spots with lows 10-15F in the mtns and 20-25F in the S.

Friday should start sunny and cold, but will warm up quickly as SW flow increases on the backside of the high. Clouds should move in from the west by midday or so, and cloud over across the entire CWA mid late afternoon, with precipitation moving in during the afternoon as well. Should start as rain everywhere but the mtns, where it will likely stay as snow into the evening, further S, may see some snow mix in once wet build is achieved, but overall expecting mainly RA S of the mtns.

Long Term - Friday Night Through Wednesday
The forecast for the first part of the upcoming weekend remains largely unchanged with widespread precipitation expected from Friday evening through Saturday thanks to an area of low pressure moving across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Valley, which will drag a cold front through the region Saturday evening into Saturday night.

To start off Friday evening, a warm front will continue to lift toward the area with precipitation overspreading New England as isentropic ascent/warm air advection increases. There could be a few hours of snow mixing in south of the mountains before switching over to all rain, but temperatures at this point appear too mild for anything to accumulate. Toward the mountains, some light snow accumulations are possible with colder temperatures profiles, and in addition to this, the higher elevations stand the chance for some light freezing rain to occur Friday night with forecast soundings showing a warm nose aloft.

Models are then advertising some mid-level drying late Friday night, where we could see a lull in precipitation or more drizzly type weather before things pick back up Saturday morning into early Saturday afternoon with the approach of the low pressure and associated cold front.

Precipitation coverage will diminish as we get into late Saturday afternoon or early evening, but there could be some showers develop along the front itself during this time frame and also as the upper trough crosses through a little later. Southern NH could also see a storm or two with a few hundred J/kg of CAPE to work with. However, once these features fast to our east, a significantly drier airmass will be brought into the area by brisk northwest flow, with gusts to around 35 mph, perhaps a few over 40 mph, overnight Saturday and into Sunday. The dry airmass will bring in plenty of sunshine for Sunday with temperatures reaching the upper 30s to lower 40s, but the gusty winds will add a chill making it feel like the 20s to 30s. However, winds should start to ease by early Sunday evening.

Dry conditions continue Sunday night into most of Monday as weak high pressure briefly settles. However, with zonal flow aloft, a couple of systems are on the table, bringing a chance of precipitation to the area late Monday or early Tuesday and again toward the middle of next week. Temperatures look to remain above normal from early to the middle of next week.

Marine
Short Term
Extended SCA (Small Craft Advisory) outside the bays through tonight. Winds will subside overnight, but will likely take most of the night to get below SCA (Small Craft Advisory) levels. Also could see a few gales gusts today over the open waters away from the coastline.

Long Term
SCA (Small Craft Advisory) conditions are expected to develop across the waters Friday night as southerly winds increase ahead of an area of low pressure and cold front. There may also be a period of winds gust exceeding Gale Force Saturday afternoon and evening. Once the front passes through Saturday night, it could again be followed by another period of NW winds gusting to or in excess of Gale Force. A brief improvement is possible Sunday night into early Monday with a weak high pressure building in, but S/SW winds are expected to increase again through the day on Monday as another low pressure passes north of the waters Monday night or Tuesday.

NOAA Gray/Portland ME Office - Watches - Warnings - Advisories
ME...None. NH...None.

Marine
Small Craft Advisory until 6am EDT Friday for ANZ150-152-154. Small Craft Advisory until midnight EDT tonight for ANZ151-153.