CARIBOU, Maine — Residents of northern Maine can expect more snow from the first storm of the season than initially thought, according to the National Weather Service.
Tuesday afternoon, the NWS Caribou office upgraded an earlier advisory to a winter storm warning forecasting heavy mixed precipitation with total snow accumulations of 3 to 7 inches and the potential for localized amounts up to 10 inches for southeast Aroostook, northern and central Piscataquis, and northern Penobscot and Somerset counties. The affected area of the warning includes the communities of Houlton, Sherman , Patten, Millinocket, and Greenville.
A winter weather advisory for the rest of Aroostook, northern Somerset, central Penobscot, southern Piscataquis and northern Washington counties now calls for accumulations of 1 to 3 inches, with up to 6 inches in some spots.
The storm warning is in effect from midnight Tuesday through 2 a.m. Thursday.
Drivers should anticipate difficult travel conditions, including during the Wednesday morning commute. Blowing snow could cause reduced visibility, according to forecasters, and slippery roads are a possibility with some ice accumulation anticipated.
NWS Meteorologist Todd Foisy said Monday that the earliest Aroostook County has ever seen snow was on Sept. 29, 1991. Snow in October is not abnormal, he said, with some falling “between 20 and 30 times” since record keeping began in 1929.
Foisy said that the average date for snow to fall in The County is on Oct. 26.
According to Norton, the most snow ever recorded in October fell in the Caribou area in 1963, when 9.4 inches was recorded. The second highest total, 7.6 inches, fell in 1959 in the Caribou area.
Meteorologist Rich Norton said Tuesday that the most snow ever recorded in October fell in the Caribou area in 1963, when 9.4 inches was recorded. The second highest total, 7.6 inches, fell in 1959 in the Caribou area.
