NWS Caribou, Maine Area Forecast Discussion
625
FXUS61 KCAR 020743
AFDCAR
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Caribou ME
243 AM EST Mon Mar 2 2026
.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
- Raised snow to liquid ratios for Tuesday night into Wednesday
AM for the light snow event.
- Increased snow totals across Bangor Region to Downeast Maine
for Tuesday Night into Wednesday AM.
&&
.KEY MESSAGES...
1) Frigid Arctic air will remain over the area today with bitter
cold wind chills, especially this morning. This will bring the risk
of hypothermia and frostbite.
2) Light Wet Snow for the Bangor Region and Downeast Maine
Tuesday Night into Wednesday AM. Minor travel impacts to the
Wednesday AM commute.
3) Progressive pattern with the potential for a significant
warm up late week into next week. This will result in mixed
precipitation events and potential of snowpack loss.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
KEY MESSAGE 1...Frigid Arctic air will remain over the area today
with bitter cold wind chills, especially this morning. This will
bring the risk of hypothermia and frostbite.
KEY MESSAGE 1 DESCRIPTION...
Bitter cold Arctic air will remain over the region today. Lows this
morning will range from the mid teens below zero in the northwest to
around ten below in the northeast and zero Downeast. Combined with a
northwesterly breeze, this will result in wind chills from the mid
20s below north to the low teens below Downeast to start the day. If
you are venturing out early this Monday morning, it is strongly
advised that you dress in layers and protect hands and face
from the bitter cold. Prolonged exposure will bring the risk of
hypothermia and frostbite.
Today will remain bitter cold in spite of bright sunshine. Highs
from the low teens north to around 20 Downeast will be just over 15
degrees below normal for early March. This will be followed by
another cold night tonight, but not as cold as this morning with
lows from near zero north to ten Downeast. This will be followed by
a big rebound in temperatures on Tuesday as highs make a run for the
30s across the area.
KEY MESSAGE 2...Light Wet Snow for the Bangor Region and
Downeast Maine Tuesday Night into Wednesday AM. Minor travel
impacts to the Wednesday AM commute.
KEY MESSAGE 2 DESCRIPTION...
A weak surface low pressure will develop in the Gulf of Maine
Tuesday evening and track northeast towards Nova Scotia into
Wednesday AM associated with a weak open 500mb shortwave. Decent
agreement with operational GFS, ECMWF, Canadian, NAM models
along with the ECMWF AIFS and AIGFS. There remains some slight
differences of 50 miles or so on track but significantly
improved timing agreements and keeping the low offshore. This is
the important part as it will allow much of the precipitation to
fall as snow versus rain. Much of the precipitation is happening
at night so that means we can expect decent cooling despite the
light southerly winds. So we start the precipitation with
temperatures well above freezing but quickly loss of diurnal
heating we fall back below freezing. Temperatures will be just
below freezing along the coastline, so there is a chance for a
rain/snow mix along the immediate coastline but most areas 006-010.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 7 AM EST this morning for
ANZ050>052.
Freezing Spray Advisory until 1 PM EST this afternoon for
ANZ050>052.
&&
$$
DISCUSSION...MB/JS
AVIATION...MB/JS
MARINE...MB/JS
NWS CAR Office Area Forecast Discussion
