Storm to Bring Heavy Snow, Wintry Mix to Aroostook County

A storm bearing down on Aroostook County will bring the first significant snowfall in nearly four weeks, before mixing with or changing to freezing rain or rain in many areas on Friday.

The National Weather Service Office in Caribou has posted a Winter Storm Warning from 7pm Thursday to around 7pm Friday for areas north of Houlton. Snow will become heavy at times Thursday night, mixing with freezing rain in some parts of the County. A Winter Storm Warning in southern Aroostook expires around 1pm Friday as temperatures climb into the mid 40s.

Winds will be picking up Thursday night with considerable snowfall by early Friday

Winds will be gusty enough to produce patchy blowing snow before precipitation changes over to a mix of snow, freezing rain and rain on Friday. Forecasters say the storm will drop between 6 and 18 inches of snow across the region, with the highest totals in the upper Saint John Valley.

High temperatures on Friday are expected range from 33° to 47° from northern to southern Aroostook County.

Waiting for winter to take hold in northern Maine

January has been milder than usual, and the Caribou weather office has measured just over 4” of snow so far this month. This follows an exceptionally mild December, that saw an average temperature more than 6 degrees above normal, and below average snowfall. Thanks to a couple of good thaws along the way, Caribou reports only 4-5” of snow on the ground heading into January 12th.

Here are the expected snowfall totals from the storm in northern Maine:

New Brunswick bracing for first major January storm

Environment Canada has also issued a winter storm warning for much of New Brunswick. The weather agency says areas in northern New Brunswick could see up to 40 cm of snow, and several hours of freezing rain, while central areas will see less snow with more freezing rain.  Forecasters say we can expect hazardous driving conditions.

For more information on the approaching storm and a preliminary snow map, visit weather.gov/car/winter