FORT KENT, Maine — Summer is getting ready to make its last stand with temperatures climbing to the highest level so far this year, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou.
“We are not out of summer yet,” Vic Nouhan, lead forecaster at the Caribou weather office, said Saturday afternoon. “It is going to be very warm.”
Temperatures around Maine reached or closed in on the 90-degree mark Sunday and could break 90 degrees Monday, according to Nouhan. It will also become increasingly humid, he said. Conditions will be a few degrees cooler along the immediate shoreline in coastal areas Downeast.
On Sunday the Maine Department of Environmental Protection issued an air quality alert from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday for the southwest coastal areas from Kittery to Popham Beach.
Officials recommend people with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly, children and teenagers should limit prolonged or heavy exertion during that time.
Record highs for the day could be broken on Monday, Nouhan said.
The record for Aug. 17 in Bangor was set in 1935 when the temperature hit 100-degrees, according to Nouhan. The record fell over the next two days with temperatures of 103 and 104 degrees, respectively.
The record high for Caribou for Aug. 17 in Caribou is 89 degrees set in 1987.
According to the weather service office in Caribou, the last time Bangor hit 90 degrees was July 16, 2013. It last hit 90 in Caribou on July 4, 2014.
Lewiston hit 90 degrees by 3 p.m. Sunday, according to the weather service. Bangor was at 88 degrees and it was 86 in Caribou.
“We’ve so far had a summer with not much opportunity for it to get really warm,” Nouhan said. “But even in summers when that happens summer makes a last stand before the upper atmosphere goes into a ‘fallish’ pattern.”
With the combination of high temperatures and humidity, Nouhan said it is a good idea for people to check on friends, relatives and neighbors who may be susceptible to the heat.
“Especially if you know of anyone in a non-air conditioned environment, check on them,” he said. “Keep your pets cool.”
A front approaching from Canada by Tuesday will start to dry out the area but could usher in some thunderstorms later in the day Tuesday, Nouhan said.
