The National Weather Service has issued a fire watch across the state due to ongoing drought conditions.
The warning comes hand-in-hand with a freeze watch that has been issued for roughly half of the state.
Thursday morning’s update from the U.S. Drought Monitor painted a bleak picture of the ongoing drought conditions across Maine, which has seen very little rainfall over the past few months.
According to the latest report, just over 5.5% of the state is experiencing extreme drought. The extreme drought observation stretches west from the Skowhegan region through southern Franklin County and across parts of Androscoggin, Kennebec and Oxford counties.
Much of the state south from Dover-Foxcroft and East Millinocket remains in a severe drought, while moderate and dry conditions reach through the northern regions of Penobscot, Piscataquis and Somerset counties and the southern arm of Aroostook County.
The fire watch issued by the NWS stretches across the majority of the state, with elevated risks focused through all of northern and eastern Maine. With low humidity and windy conditions, fires can start and spread quickly.
The freeze watch issued for late Friday through Saturday morning encompasses regions of northwestern Aroostook County, northern Somerset, Piscataquis, Oxford and Franklin counties and central Somerset County.
Overnight temperatures could dip as low as the high 20s Friday night, according to forecasters. The low temperatures could damage or kill crops, as well as damage outside plumbing such as garden hoses or other watering systems.
Looking ahead to the weekend, daytime conditions will be pleasant with few clouds over the weekend. Temperatures will range from the mid 60s to the low 70s on Friday, with weekend highs looking to be in the mid 60s.
Cooler temperatures overnight have prompted leaves to start turning. If you’re hoping to get some leaf peeping in this weekend, look to The County for some of the best viewing right now.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated when the freezing conditions are expected.
