Maine Weather March 4 Evening - Unseasonably Warm

Good evening. Maine. I'm DJ Huzz. That inch and a half of snow yesterday already feels like a distant memory. Step outside right now and you'll find 47 degrees on the thermometer. That's 7 degrees above normal for early March. Winter is loosening its grip. In the next 24 hours. Here's the breakdown for today. Southern and coastal areas from Portland through the Midcoast top out around 45 degrees. Central Maine reaches 47. Bangor hits 47 as well. The Western Mountains sit cooler at 40 degrees with a west wind around 10 miles an hour. But head to The County and it's a different world. Aroostook starts mild at 43 degrees this afternoon. Then the bottom drops out. Scattered snow showers move in after 8 P.M. Temperatures plummet to 7 degrees overnight. Yes, single digits. Wind chills dip to minus 3. The rest of the state stays dry tonight with partly cloudy skies. Lows range from the low 20s to around 26 degrees along the coast. Thursday brings a brief cooldown. Highs only reach the mid-30s in central areas and low 30s Downeast. Bangor struggles to hit 30. The County barely makes it to 17 degrees. Thursday night is when things get interesting. A storm slides south of us. Portland and coastal areas see snow developing after 7 P.M., mixing with sleet overnight. Expect 1 to 2 inches of accumulation. Central Maine picks up lighter amounts. Friday that system lingers with snow and sleet in the morning, tapering off by afternoon. Then the pattern flips. Saturday through Tuesday we warm up fast. Highs climb into the upper 40s Sunday, then 50s Monday. And near 60 degrees by Tuesday. Maple sugaring season is just 11 days away and the weather will cooperate. One more thing — look up tonight. It's a full moon. Sunrise was at 6:14 this morning and sunset comes at 5:34 this evening. We gained nearly 3 minutes of daylight today. For the extended outlook, check the latest forecast as confidence improves. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.