St. John Valley Weather for Sept. 6-12, 2023

Joseph E. Becker, Special to The County
8 months ago

3-Day Outlook: Wed. Sep 6 – Fri. Sep 8

Once more, locally dense river fog can be found across the Saint John Valley and the North Woods. Drivers should allow extra time for the morning commute. Additionally, satellite imagery is showing a smoke plume aloft from Canadian wildfires.

An upper-level ridge of high pressure will remain across the Valley today with mostly sunny skies and continued hot and humid conditions across the area. Highs reach the mid-80s. Partly cloudy skies and patchy fog after midnight can be expected tonight with temperatures falling into the low 60s.

The upper-level high pressure ridge begins flatten Thursday as a cold front slowly approaches from the west as the oceanic Bermuda high builds towards the Northeast and impedes its progress. Some scattered showers are possible in Fort Kent and vicinity Thursday afternoon. Thursday night, partly cloudy skies with scattered showers and afternoon thunderstorms are currently expected. Rainfall totals in the 1/10 to 1/4-inch range are currently expected, with locally higher amounts possible in any storms that occur. Thursday night, showers and evening thunderstorms are possible with patchy fog overnight into early Friday. Rainfall amounts in the 0.01 to 0.09-inch range are anticipated. Daytime highs in the mid-80s with overnight lows in the mid-60s expected.

The slow-moving cold front slowly tracks across Québec Friday into Saturday. Mostly cloudy skies with highs in the low 80s are expected Friday with rainfall totals between 1/4 and 1/2-inch. Friday night, mostly cloudy skies with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms are possible overnight. Lows fall into the middle 60s.

NWS Daily Forecast Summary for Fort Kent & Vicinity

Today: Patchy smoke. Sunny, with a high near 84. Light northeast wind.

Tonight: Areas of fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 62. Light east wind.

Thursday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Areas of fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 85. Heat index values as high as 89. Southeast wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Thursday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Light south wind. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Friday: A chance of showers before noon, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between noon and 1pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Southwest wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

4-7 Day Outlook: Sat. Sep 9 – Tue. Sep 12 

The cold front remains just west of the region Saturday with mostly cloudy skies and a chance for mainly afternoon showers and isolated afternoon thunderstorms. Saturday night, mostly cloudy skies with showers are anticipated. Highs peak in the upper 70s with overnight lows in the lower 60s.

The front’s progress is somewhat uncertain due to computer model inconsistency at present. Current consensus is that the cold front slowly moves across Maine Sunday into Monday with showers, especially in the afternoon and evening Sunday. Showers continue overnight into Monday before tapering off Monday evening with isolated showers overnight into Tuesday morning. High pressure near the Great Lakes may build in with partly sunny skies Tuesday with a chance of isolated afternoon showers. However, models are showing variance with some models moving a system across the region late Monday into Tuesday.

NWS Daily Forecast Summary for Fort Kent & Vicinity

Saturday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. Southwest wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Sunday: Showers likely, mainly after 2pm. Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday Night: A chance of showers. Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Monday: A chance of showers. Patchy fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday Night: A slight chance of showers. Patchy fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tuesday: A slight chance of showers. Patchy fog. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 68. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

8-14 Day Regional Trends: Wed. Sep 13 –  Tue. Sep 19 

Near normal temperatures / Near normal precipitation

Note: Computer model precision diminishes the further into the week the forecast projects. Check The County.me or the National Weather Service, Caribou for weather updates with more current information for the Saint John Valley.

The Week Ahead is the work of UMFK Professor Joseph E. Becker based on personal weather station data, various computer forecast models, and information that the National Weather Service, NOAA, and other weather resources provide.