The heat is beginning to break in Maine and some “much-needed, beneficial” rain is projected to fall Monday, forecasters say.
However, the Maine Forest Service had all of southern Maine under a very high wildfire danger alert on Friday and most of the state is still in the grips of a drought.
But cooler temps are providing some relief from the recent heat.
The low in Portland dropped to 46 degrees on Thursday, the coolest temperature so far this month, according to the National Weather Service. Lows also dipped into the 40s across southern and central Maine in the last week, with many regions setting their own monthly lows. In northern Maine, lows have been in the low 40s and even the high 30s, according to weather service data.
Highs have rested in a more comfortable 65- to 75-degree range across the state compared to recent highs of over 90 degrees.
A “good, strong” cold front has rolled in and is responsible for the break in the heat, said Alice Brennan, a meteorologist at the NWS Caribou office.
“Plus, clearing skies at night were really helpful to getting the atmosphere to cool down a bit behind that heat spell,” Brennan said.
Southern Maine can expect to see up to a half-inch of rain on Monday. Portland had recorded less than two-tenths of an inch (0.15 inches) of rain in all of August as of Friday, according to weather service data.
“That’s going to be some much-needed, beneficial rain for us,” said Jon Palmer, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Gray office.
The northern part of the state could see some thunderstorms and a half-inch or more of rain, Brennan said.
However, while temperatures are projected to stay cool across the state, it’s expected that Maine will return to a dry spell from there.
“By the end of the day on Monday, that system moves eastward, and really through the rest of the week, it looks like most areas are going to stay dry,” Palmer said.
While that projected half-inch of rain, give or take, is very welcome, it’s not expected to put a dent in the ongoing drought, the meteorologists said.
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a drought buster anywhere, unfortunately,” Brennan said.
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