Winter arrived in Maine last week with over 2 feet of snow inland.  This gave winter sports enthusiasts a great weekend for getting outside and enjoying winter in Maine.

Today we find a storm system that will bring a mixed bag of weather from the Ohio Valley. This storm will spawn a new system along the coastline that will move northward.  When storms come from the west of New England, warm air infiltrates them and we tend to see snow change to rain.  When storms move up along the coast we often see snow.  Since today we’ll have both, expect to see all types of precipitation as warm and cold air fight for control.

I’ve found that the models often overdo the warm air in these situations and therefore I am not very worried about the snow being eroded in the mountains enough to damage ski conditions.  However, along the coast, including Greater Portland, warm air will bring rain and some loss of the snow cover where it still exists.

A mixed bag of precipitation comes to Maine and New Hampshire today. Rain along the immediate coastline, but snow well inland.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory (purple area below) and a winter storm warning (blue) for all this weather today.

Winter weather advisories are posted today in most of Maine

There will be icing inland across Maine and other areas of the Northeast

The heaviest precipitation will fall overnight tonight and early Wednesday.  That’s when the most rain will fall along the coast and the heaviest snow across the mountains.  The rain-snow line can fluctuate during the storm – areas where snow is expected could see more rain or a mix depending on the exact track of the storm.  The alternative is also true.

Total precipitation – rain plus melted sleet and snow – will be amount to a half-inch to an inch of water.

Snow will be limited to inland and mountain areas.

Clearing takes place later Wednesday and colder air arrives at the end of the week.  Over the weekend Arctic air will move in bringing morning lows in the single numbers at the coast and near or below zero inland and in the mountains.

You can follow more of my forecast on Twitter @growingwisdom