CARIBOU, Maine — The National Weather Service in Caribou has upgraded its winter weather advisory for portions of Aroostook and northern Penobscot counties to a winter storm warning.
A forecaster reported early Saturday afternoon that about 3 to 4 inches of snow had accumulated north of a line between Millinocket and Mars Hill with a total of 5 inches on the ground in Westfield. Some areas reported up to 7 inches by 4 p.m.
The warning area includes northeast and southeast Aroostook County and Penobscot County north of Houlton.
The weather service predicts between 4 and 8 inches of accumulation with as much as 10 inches in some areas.
A forecaster reported earlier in the day that visibility in the Caribou area was down to a half-mile.
A wintery mix began falling in Bangor around 11:30 a.m. shifting to snowfall early in the afternoon.
A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 6 p.m. Saturday for the rest of northern and central main along a line north of Rumford in the west and Calais in the east.
The weather service predicts “heavy wet snow and wind” in the advisory and warning areas with possible accumulations of 4 to 8 inches and a rate of snowfall of up to 1 to 2 inches per hour.
The intensity of snowfall in the warning area should begin tapering off between 4 and 5 p.m., according to Victor Nouhan, a forecaster with the weather service, moving out of the area between 6 and 7 p.m.
In Bangor, the snow should taper off around 4 p.m. Saturday, he said.
Gusts of up to 30 mph are possible, according to the weather service, leading to drifting snow and limited visibility.
There could be about 1 to 3 inches of snow in interior Down East, 3 to 6 inches in eastern central Maine and possibly 1 inch along the coast, Nouhan said.
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