Boothbay Peninsula Weather

01/13/2026

Just a quick update before tomorrow's midweek post. We may get a few rain showers or a period of rain tonight through Thursday, we shouldn't be getting anything serious precipitation-wise before some time next week at least. Temperatures will be quite warm for a couple more days, but expect some serious swings over the next week. Friday is going to feel especially cold with a daytime high around 20+ degrees colder than Thursday's.

01/12/2026

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY
I don't expect that there are a whole lot of people really needing this, but...
There is a Small Craft Advisory in effect through 7AM tomorrow due to west winds 15 to 25 kt with gusts up to 35 kt and seas 3 to 5 ft.

01/12/2026

WHAT WAS AND WHAT’S AHEAD (01/12/26):

WHAT WAS: Snow overnight once again exceeded expectations with around 2 inches on the ground here in Boothbay. It is a bit frustrating that predicted precipitation amounts have been short of what has actually arrived. I probably wouldn’t have complained about it this past summer since we were so short on rainfall, but now is a little different. As of yesterday afternoon I was not planning on having to use the snowblower this morning, but I did have to use it.

WHAT’S AHEAD: What isn’t happening is a big snowstorm Thursday, which is good! We probably will get a little rain Wednesday, and we may get a couple inches of snow Friday, about what we got overnight last night if the forecast holds. Sunday is a big question mark right now. Both models that I watch indicate some amount of precipitation but the amounts that they are indicating are very different with the ECMWF EURO forecast model indicating about ¾ inch while the NOAA GFS model is indicating less than 1/10 inch. At the moment it looks like the precipitation could be starting as snow with a transition to rain.

The changes from one model ensemble to the next have been significant so I will be keeping a close watch for further changes. The best that I can say with some confidence is that we will have some unsettled weather during the second half of the week.

01/11/2026

THE WEEK AHEAD (01/11/26):

Rain overnight again exceeded expectations with nearly ½ inch falling here in Boothbay.

Our snow cover has taken a beating with bare areas showing up after the recent rains and warmer temperatures. I expect more bare areas to show up as the warmer daytime temperatures are likely several days during the coming week. Winter returns beginning later in the day Thursday!

TEMPERATURES: Daytime high temperatures are expected to be well above freezing Tuesday through Thursday with temperatures around 40° likely. Tonight’s overnight low is likely to be the coldest for the next 3 days, dropping to around 20°, but after a couple of nights remaining above freezing Tuesday and Wednesday expect a return to winter as a cold front arriving Thursday brings much colder weather with mid teens by Friday morning and little warming during the day. Lows Friday and Saturday nights are likely to drop into the single digits.

PRECIPITATION: A little snow is likely this evening, less than an inch likely. A little rain is likely Tuesday night. Snow accompanies winter’s return Thursday accumulating to possibly 6-9 inches by the time it ends Friday. This could be the most significant storm so far this winter as significant drifting is likely.

WINDS: The coming week is expected to be fairly windy with winds around 15 mph much of the time through Friday. Gusts may approach 35 mph tomorrow and during the period of snow Thursday night and Friday. Gusts 25-30 mph are possible on Wednesday

MARINE FORECAST: As I posted earlier, a GALE WARNING has been issued for the period of 10PM tonight through 1PM tomorrow due to west winds 20 to 30 kt with gusts up to 40 kt and seas 4 to 7 ft expected. Other than Tuesday when seas are expected to be around 3 feet, seas mostly in the range of 4-6+ feet are expected with Tuesday night and Wednesday the roughest. Winds tomorrow are expected to be around 25 kt, Tuesday and Thursday 15 kt and Wednesday 20 kt.

SPACE WEATHER: There is some geomagnetic storminess due to recent sun activity but nothing that will provide us with visible signs/aurora.

01/11/2026

GALE WARNING

A Gale Warning is in effect for the period of 10PM this evening through 1PM tomorrow due to west winds 20 to 30 kt with gusts up to 40 kt and seas 4 to 7 ft expected.

01/10/2026

01/10/2026

Which way do I go with conflicting information?

First, the easy part...We received a bit more rain than expected last night, about 2/10 inch after trying to separate new precipitation from melting snow and ice already in the rain gauge.

The hard part…What form will the precipitation take that is expected to fall this evening/tonight, tomorrow and tomorrow night? The NWS Gray forecast leans to sleet, freezing rain and snow and has issued a Winter Weather Advisory. As usual, the advisory covers a large forecast area and their forecast is basically the worst to expect in that area. That is not what we should expect on the peninsula., but what should we expect from this event?

My normal inclination is to lean toward the EURO forecast model rather than the NOAA GFS model based on their historical performance, so I am inclined to do so again. The two models have significantly different temperature forecasts for the surface, 2,500’ and 5,000’ altitudes next 24 to 36 hours which obviously affects the type of precipitation we get.

My guess… Starts as rain, a little snow during the night, back to rain/drizzle for most of the day tomorrow, and ending with some snow tomorrow evening with under an inch accumulation. As usual, I may be wrong but time will tell!

01/10/2026

Be careful this morning. We got around 2/10 inch of rain and the current temperature is 34° meaning that there could be some icy spots this morning.

01/09/2026

A little rain, about 1/10 inch arriving this evening around supper time.

Another round of rain or mostly rain with about 2/10 inch is expected for tomorrow night into Sunday.

01/08/2026

Another cold night tonight, but a quick warm-up tomorrow and a couple of warmer days and nights to end the week. Expect some rain tomorrow evening and a bit of snow/mixed precipitation Saturday night.

01/07/2026

THE MIDWEEK UPDATE (01/07/26):

Ugh! What a mess we have in the driveway today after a little bit of everything (except strong winds thankfully) that winter can throw at us, a little snow, rain and sleet. With the rest of the week expected to be mostly above freezing, I’ll let Mother Nature deal with most of it. It does look like we are entering a “January Thaw” period, but I have high confidence that winter weather will make a return before too long!

The Winter Weather Advisory that was set to expire at 1PM has been extended to 4PM as areas of sleet or freezing rain continue to cross the area this afternoon.

TEMPERATURES: Daytime high temperatures are expected to be well above freezing through the weekend with temperatures around 40° likely. Tomorrow’s overnight low is likely to be the coldest for the next 7 days, dropping to around 20°. Lows Friday and Saturday nights are likely to remain above freezing, in the mid to upper 30s.

PRECIPITATION: Tomorrow should be sunny, but there is a good chance for some rain each day from Friday through Sunday. Total accumulation of around ½ inch is possible over the three days. The next opportunity for some snow looks like late next week.

WINDS: Tomorrow’s winds are expected to be in the 5-10 mph range with gusts under 20 mph. After tomorrow though, and well into next week, winds are likely to be in the 10-15 mph range with gusts over25 mph possible. Higher gusts may occur during the early part of next week.

MARINE FORECAST: While there are no watches, warnings or advisories in effect, it is forecast to be a little lumpy on the water for the rest of the week along with a chance of rain every day after tomorrow. Seas of 3-4 feet and possibly higher on Friday when winds are expected to freshen to 20 kt from 10 kt. Winds Sunday are expected to be around 15 kt.

SPACE WEATHER: Northern Maine may have an opportunity to see the aurora tomorrow night with partly cloudy skies forecast. As usual, we’re too far south for this one.