Temperatures well below zero will sweep across Aroostook County this weekend as an arctic front moves into the Northeast, bringing with it dangerous wind chills and the potential for snow squalls.
The extreme cold is expected to set in Friday night, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou.
The wind chill in Frenchville could drop as low as minus 39 degrees Fahrenheit early Sunday and air temperatures will not rise above zero Saturday or Sunday throughout most of The County.
“Exposure to these frigid temperatures can quickly result in frostbite and hypothermia,” Caribou weather officials said in a Wednesday report.
Snow squalls could also be seen throughout the region Friday afternoon into the night, though the exact location of the squalls is uncertain, forecasters said.
Where to find warmth
In Presque Isle, where Saturday’s high temperature is expected to be one below zero with wind chills nearing 30 below during midday, the city posted a reminder about its warming centers on Facebook.
The Sargent Family Community Center, Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library and The Forum — all city-owned properties — are open to the general public during regular hours. The Aroostook County Action Program building on Central Drive will also open as a warming center when temperatures reach dangerous lows, according to the city.
A 15-bed, no-barrier warming shelter run by Homeless Services of Aroostook, also on Central Drive, is open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day. It is the only overnight warming shelter in Maine north of Bangor.
Other surrounding towns have also announced warming center locations. Portage Lake Town Hall, at 20 School St., will be open 24 hours a day Wednesday through the weekend. It has a capacity of 75.
The town office and a building at Lonesome Pine Trails in Fort Kent will be open from parts of Thursday through Sunday. The town office will function as the warming center on Thursday and Friday and Lonesome Pines on Saturday and Sunday. Both can accommodate up to 20 people, according to a notice posted by the Aroostook Emergency Management Association.