CARIBOU, Maine — A winter weather advisory that predicted several inches of snow throughout the Aroostook region is expected to end at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon, according to the latest reports from the National Weather Service in Caribou.
NWS Meteorologist Donnie Dumont said that much of the two to four inches of snow that landed in all regions of Aroostook County will taper off within the early afternoon. But as a cold front moves in from the west, NWS officials are issuing a wind advisory that will be in effect from Saturday evening to noon on Sunday.
“Right now we’re only seeing wind gusts of 30 miles per hour but tonight we’re expecting gusts to increase to around 50 miles per hour,” Dumont said.
The official start of winter might not be until late December, but northern Maine has already seen much snowfall come to the region. On Oct. 24 many areas of Aroostook County saw up to 10 inches of snow, with the heaviest precipitation of 10 inches reported in Merrill, 9 inches in Dyer Brook and 8.5 inches in Ludlow. NWS records show that Caribou broke its previous record for that date of 1.3 inches in 1981 with 2 inches.
For many folks who are from Aroostook County, the first snowfalls of the season evoke fond memories of their childhoods. Katherine Smith-Lariza, who now lives in Portland but grew up in Presque Isle, visited the public library on Saturday while visiting family members. She noted that the seeing the miles of snow in Aroostook County quickly reminded her of why she still calls Presque Isle her “home.”
“When I was in high school I used to go running in the mornings and I remember it would be so quiet and peaceful,” Smith-Lariza said. “It’s still like that today.”
Although Aroostook County will see a relief from harsher weather starting Sunday afternoon, the NWS is anticipating a mix of snow and rain to fall throughout the region on Tuesday, though they do not yet have predicted precipitation totals, according to Dumont.
