The recent cycle of unsettled weather continues, with the National Weather Service just issuing a winter storm watch from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon. The NWS bulletin warns there may be periods of locally heavy snowfall leaving 4 to 8 inches of accumulation.
This system is particularly challenging for forecasters because the heaviest snowfall affecting the Lincoln County area will result from a meteorological effect known as a surface trough, according to the NWS. In this case, the trough is forecast to develop between two centers of low pressure well offshore of Lincoln County. Once formed, the trough is then forecast to enable unsettled weather to flow west, and back to the Maine coastline.
It’s where the trough will form that is challenging the forecasters. “Some uncertainty exists in exactly where the trough will form, and hence where the heaviest snowfall will be,” the NWS advises.
On the bright side, weather associated with such troughs generally comes in brief waves of intense snowfall, so forecasters are not warning of a day-long, area-wide, snow event.
The Lincoln County News will continue to follow the progress of this event and post any additional information here as soon as it is obtained.
