882  
FXUS61 KGYX 171830  
AFDGYX  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME  
230 PM EDT THU SEP 17 2026  
   
WHAT HAS CHANGED
 
 
HIGH RESOLUTION MODELS HAVE BECOME A LITTLE BIT MORE OPTIMISTIC  
WITH REGARDS TO POCKETS OF HEAVIER RAIN THIS EVENING ACROSS PORTIONS  
OF SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SOUTHWEST MAINE.  
 

 
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
1. A QUICK MOVING LOW AND FRONT WILL LEAD TO INCREASING RAIN  
CHANCES THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THE FIRST PART OF TONIGHT.  
EXPECT SOME GUSTY WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON.  
 
2. ANOTHER RAINY SUNDAY WILL BE FOLLOWED BY MOSTLY DRY WEATHER  
THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK, WITH TEMPERATURES RUNNING NEAR TO  
SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL.  
 

 
   
DISCUSSION
 
 
KEY MESSAGE 1 DESCRIPTION...  
 
AS AN UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE APPROACHES, A WEAK SURFACE LOW WILL  
MOVE FROM EASTERN NEW YORK EARLY THIS AFTERNOON TO THE SOUTHERN  
NEW HAMPSHIRE/MAINE BORDER BY THE EVENING. THESE FEATURES WILL  
LEAD TO INCREASING RAIN CHANCES LATER THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE  
EXPANDING NORTH AND EAST INTO WESTERN MAINE THROUGH THE FIRST  
PART OF TONIGHT. THE HIGHEST CHANCES (60 TO 90 PERCENT), WILL BE  
ALONG THE TRACK OF THE LOW AND TRAILING COLD FRONT, WHICH  
SHOULD MOVE ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND INTO PORTIONS OF  
THE WESTERN MAINE FOOTHILLS, THE INTERIOR, AND THE COAST. CAMS  
HAVE COME INTO FAIRLY SOLID AGREEMENT ON THE TRACK OF HEAVIER  
SHOWERS AND RAP SOUNDINGS SUGGEST THAT WE COULD SEE SOME MUCAPE  
AROUND 100 J/KG. THUS, THERE WILL BE A CONVECTIVE ELEMENT TO  
THIS PRECIPITATION WHICH MAY LEAD TO SOME PULSEY EMBEDDED  
DOWNPOURS. A RUMBLE OF THUNDER OR TWO CAN'T BE RULED OUT,  
EITHER. BEST GUESS IS THAT WE WILL SEE THE HIGHER TOTALS IN THE  
0.5 TO 1 INCH RANGE WHICH MATCHES WELL WITH WHAT THE 12Z HREF  
MEAN IS ADVERTISING, BUT HREF 24-HOUR MAX QPF DOES SUGGEST THE  
POTENTIAL FOR SOME 1.5 TO 2 INCH TOTALS. THUS, SOME LOCALLY  
HIGHER TOTALS WILL BE POSSIBLE DEPENDING ON HOW CONVECTION  
EVOLVES. RAIN WILL THEN MOVE OUT QUICKLY OVERNIGHT AS THE LOW  
MOVES INTO THE GULF OF MAINE.  
 
BEHIND THE COLD FRONT, WE SHOULD SEE PLENTY OF SUNSHINE AND A  
STIFF BREEZE ON FRIDAY. WHILE PRESSURE RISES ARE NOT OVERLY  
IMPRESSIVE, WE WILL SEE SOME DECENT COLD AIR ADVECTION AND STEEP  
LOW-LEVEL LAPSE RATES. FORECAST NAM AND GFS SOUNDINGS SUGGEST  
THAT WE WILL SEE 30 TO 35 KNOTS AT THE TOP OF THE MIXED LAYER SO  
WITH THE FAVORABLE LAPSE RATES, WIDESPREAD GUSTS IN THE 25 TO 35  
MPH RANGE SEEM REASONABLE. THE STRONGEST WINDS APPEAR TO BE MOST  
FAVORABLE OVER MAINE. GUSTY WINDS COULD LEAD TO A LIMITED POWER  
OUTAGE THREAT FROM ANY BRANCHES THAT COME DOWN. WINDS WILL  
DIMINISH RATHER QUICKLY AROUND AND AFTER SUNSET FRIDAY EVENING,  
BECOMING CALM OVERNIGHT. WHILE WE COULD STILL HAVE SOME  
LINGERING HIGH CLOUDS AROUND, WE SHOULD HAVE SOME AREAS THAT  
WILL SEE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR RADIATIONAL COOLING.  
OVERNIGHT LOWS MAY DIP INTO THE LOW TO MID 30S ALONG AND NORTH  
OF THE MOUNTAINS, WITH VALUES IN THE UPPER 30S TO MID 40S  
ELSEWHERE. SOME AREAS OF FROST WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE  
NORTH.  
 
KEY MESSAGE 2 DESCRIPTION...  
HIGH PRESSURE SLIDES THROUGH THE REGION SATURDAY WHICH WILL  
MAKE IT THE PICK OF THE WEEKEND. UPPER LEVEL TROUGHING DROPS 850  
MB TEMPERATURES TO +2 TO +5 C, SO IT IS GOING TO BE ON THE  
COOLER SIDE WITH HIGHS CAPPING OUT IN THE LOW TO MID 60S. CLOUDS  
INCREASE SATURDAY NIGHT AS A SHORTWAVE MOVES THROUGH THE  
BROADER TROUGH TOWARD OUR AREA AND HIGH PRESSURE BEGINS TO PUSH  
OFFSHORE. TEMPERATURES FALL INTO THE MID TO UPPER 30S NORTH OF  
THE MOUNTAINS, AND INTO THE LOW TO MID-40S SOUTH.  
 
HIGH PRESSURE CONTINUES TO STAY NOSED IN THROUGH SUNDAY  
MORNING, BUT RAIN MOVES INTO NEW HAMPSHIRE BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON  
AS A WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE TAKES A TRACK THROUGH SOUTHERN NEW  
ENGLAND. THIS CREATES SOME UNCERTAINTY IN THE NORTHWARD EXTENT  
OF THE PRECIPITATION SHIELD, BUT FORCING FROM THE SHORTWAVE  
SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO GET MEASURABLE RAINFALL UP THROUGH MOST OF  
THE AREA. THE HIGHER RAINFALL TOTALS ARE LIKELY GOING TO FALL  
SOUTH OF CONCORD WHERE BETTER FORCING IS GOING TO OVERLAP WITH  
HIGHER MOISTURE. NBM IS CURRENTLY ADVERTISING PROBABILITIES OF A  
HALF INCH AROUND 40 TO 50 PERCENT IN THAT AREA.  
 
RAIN WRAPS UP OVERNIGHT AND BY LATE MONDAY MORNING MOST OF THE  
AREA SHOULD BE BACK UNDER MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES. GLOBAL MODELS ARE  
IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT STRONG HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS AND THEN  
SETTLES OVER THE REGION THROUGH MOST OF NEXT WEEK. THIS BRINGS  
MOSTLY DRY CONDITIONS WITH DAYTIME TEMPERATURES IN THE 60S.  
NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURES ARE MOSTLY GOING TO BE SEASONABLE AS WELL  
(RANGING FROM THE UPPER 30S IN THE NORTH TO 40S IN THE SOUTH),  
BUT HIGH PRESSURE OVERHEAD USUALLY ALLOWS FOR RADIATIONAL  
COOLING AND I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF WE SEE FROSTS IN  
NORTHERN ZONES MORE THAN ONCE.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /18Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
 
 
FOR THE REST OF THE DAY, MVFR CIGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH FOG AND  
MARINE STRATUS POTENTIALLY BRINGING IFR TO PWM AND RKD AS EARLY  
AS THIS AFTERNOON. ELSEWHERE, CIGS LOWER TO MVFR THROUGH THE  
AFTERNOON WITH INCREASING CHANCES FOR RAIN SHOWERS, AND THEN  
CEILINGS FURTHER LOWER TO IFR OR LOWER AT MOST SITES THROUGH  
TONIGHT WITH FOG AND -SHRA CONTINUING. A RUMBLE OF THUNDER OR  
TWO CANNOT BE RULED OUT. SHOWERS END WEST TO EAST OVERNIGHT, BUT  
FOG MAY PROLONG IFR OR LOWER RESTRICTIONS AT SOME TERMINALS  
THROUGH DAYBREAK FRIDAY.  
 
OUTLOOK...  
SATURDAY-SATURDAY NIGHT: GENERALLY VFR WITH CEILINGS THICKENING  
AND LOWERING AFTER 06Z SUNDAY.  
 
SUNDAY-SUNDAY NIGHT: GENERALLY MVFR EXPECTED BY EARLY SUNDAY  
MORNING AND THEN PREVAILING AS RAIN MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. RAIN  
THEN BEGINS TAPERING OFF SUNDAY NIGHT.  
 
MONDAY-TUESDAY: MVFR EARLY, IMPROVING TO VFR. GENERALLY VFR  
CONDITIONS ARE THEN EXPECTED THROUGH AT LEAST TUESDAY.  
 

 
   
MARINE
 
 
WINDS AND SEAS ARE GENERALLY EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SCA  
THRESHOLDS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. HOWEVER  
A MODEST COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE WATERS FRI AND NORTHWEST  
WINDS WILL BECOME GUSTY DURING THE DAY. WHILE GUIDANCE DOES NOT  
QUITE SHOW IT AT THIS TIME, I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE A  
FEW 25 KT GUSTS AT TIMES. THERE WILL ALSO BE AREAS OF FOG  
DEVELOPING AHEAD OF A FRONTAL WAVE TODAY AND THAT FOG MAY MOVE  
INTO BAYS AND INLETS TOWARDS LATE AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING.  
 
GENERALLY SUB-SCA CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FROM SATURDAY THROUGH  
MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. LOW PRESSURE TRACKS SOUTH OF THE GULF OF  
MAINE ON SUNDAY WHICH MAY CREATE SOME BRIEF SCA CONDITIONS.  
OTHERWISE, HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS AND SETTLES OVER THE REGION  
BEGINNING MONDAY.  
 

 
   
GYX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
ME...NONE.  
NH...NONE.  
MARINE...NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
DISCUSSION...HARGROVE/BARON  
 
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