Potential Nor’easter Could Bring Heavy Rain, Wind and High Surf to Maine

A developing coastal storm could make things pretty interesting here in Maine later this week, with the potential for some nor’easter-like weather heading into the weekend.

Right now, the system is expected to form off the Mid-Atlantic coast before tracking north toward New England. And, as usual with these things, the exact track is going to make all the difference.

WMTW said that if the storm hugs the coast a little more closely or slows down offshore, Maine could be looking at a solid round of soaking rain, gusty winds and some seriously rough surf. If it stays farther out to sea, the worst of it would likely stay focused over southern New England and Cape Cod.

Even without a direct hit, coastal Maine could still get a pretty good taste of it.

Persistent northeast winds could build seas to around 10 feet, and if the storm strengthens or creeps closer to shore, waves in the 15-to-20-foot range are possible.

Wind gusts along the coast could reach 30 to 35 mph, which is enough to at least raise the possibility of scattered power outages.

NOAA is saying there could also be around two feet of storm surge Saturday night into Sunday. The good news is astronomical tides won’t be at their peak, which may help keep coastal flooding from becoming a bigger problem.

Rainfall is still very track-dependent, but some forecasts are showing around two inches possible along the coast through the weekend. Inland and mountain areas may end up with quite a bit less.

Showers could start as early as Friday night, but Sunday currently looks like the best chance for widespread rain.

So, no, this isn’t a “panic buy all the bread and milk” situation yet, but it’s definitely one worth watching.