BANGOR, Maine — Snow and freezing rain are expected to hit northern and central Maine late Sunday, creating hazardous driving conditions as far south as Bangor, according to meteorologist Tim Duda of the National Weather Service office in Caribou.
A winter storm watch is in effect north of Millinocket and Greenville, with a hazardous weather outlook in effect to the south.
“The precipitation is expected to move in late tonight,” Duda said Sunday. “Up across the north it will start as snow and turn to a mix a sleet and freezing rain that is expected to last through Monday and through Tuesday. Across the Bangor area, it starts as [a] freezing rain-sleet mix late tonight, but we’re expecting it to turn to rain later in the day.”
Drivers should slow down and use caution because of the potential for slippery road conditions, the hazardous weather outlook states.
The freezing rain and high winds, with gusts up to 25 miles per hour predicted, may cause icing conditions that could down trees and power lines, according to the storm watch, which ends Tuesday evening for northern Maine.
“It’s definitely going to be messy up north for travel, particularly tomorrow morning through Tuesday,” Duda said. “It’s going to be a drawn out event. We expect it to start moving in late tonight and kinda linger Monday and Tuesday, and then ending that day.”
The area north of Baxter State Park will likely be hit by snow, Duda said.
“Right now we’re forecasting anywhere from four to maybe as much as eight inches,” Duda said. “Higher amounts would be expected in the St. John Valley … down to Houlton. Across the Bangor area, we’re not expecting a lot of snowfall.”
The cooler temperatures may come as a surprise to residents in the Bangor area, who enjoyed nearly record high temperatures Saturday. “They tied the record of 53 degrees. That was set in 1979,” Duda said Saturday afternoon shortly after the temperature in Bangor started to decrease.