What’s the Election Day weather forecast for Maine?
Tuesday will feel more like mid-summer than early June for Maine voters heading to the polls. The National Weather Service is projecting a warm and largely dry Election Day, with high temperatures stretching across the state in the 80s and a humid feel that could make it feel several degrees warmer in some areas.
Forecasters say a broad ridge of high pressure moving over the region is the driver behind the unseasonable warmth. Stephen Baron, a meteorologist with the Weather Service office in Gray, put it simply: “We just have a ridge of high pressure that’s going to be building over the area.”
Temperatures are expected to peak in the high 80s in the state’s interior valleys. In the Fryeburg, Lewiston and Waterville areas, highs should reach about 87 degrees. Around Augusta and Farmington, the mercury is forecast to climb to 85. On the coast, Portland and surrounding communities can expect a high near 80, while higher-elevation towns like Jackman and Rangeley may see highs stuck in the upper 70s. Much of northern and Downeast Maine is also in for 80-degree highs, though specifics vary by location.
Overnight conditions will offer a brief respite. Southern Maine should see lows in the 50s Tuesday morning, with many areas cooling to around 60 degrees by Tuesday night.
The warm trend doesn’t end when the polls close. Wednesday is expected to be a few degrees hotter than Tuesday across much of southern and central Maine, and the added humidity will likely make it feel more like the upper 80s, perhaps even brushing close to 90 in some spots, Baron noted. “It will probably feel more like upper 80s, maybe even near 90.”
As the week progresses, the weather service says highs will gradually dip back into the low 80s and high 70s, but the lingering moisture could bring showers and thunderstorms, particularly later in the workweek. By the weekend, conditions are expected to calm, though residual humidity may keep things feeling unsettled.
Voters heading to the polls are advised to stay hydrated and perhaps light a layer for the morning chill, as the day shapes up to be one of the warmest Election Days in recent memory.
