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English Stu
08-21-2010, 06:55
Please advise a website for Maine weather and if possible a radio station for on the trail. I am due in Maine around the 30th Aug starting at Kennebec river and going northwards, would like to have weather forecast before I leave. Not sure what the average night time temp it will be and how wet. Are water conditions OK.

leaftye
08-21-2010, 07:42
If you're bringing a smart phone and have gps, you can get weather reports for any location.

http://postholer.com/mobi/wx.php

Or you could just select a location in the drop down lists. I personally prefer the gps method since even a nearby location can have drastically different weather.

English Stu
08-21-2010, 17:29
Thanks I do not have a smart phone and Gps

bus
08-22-2010, 08:16
http://www.crownweather.com/?page_id=23

Crown Weather. Great Maine weather section linked above.
Browse the other sections of their site. They have a great Tropical Weather section as well.

bus
08-22-2010, 08:17
http://www.crownweather.com/?page_id=1468

They also have cover all of New England...

10-K
08-22-2010, 13:04
Based on my limited experience, here's how to accurately predict the weather in Maine.

1. Listen to a weather report.
2. Prepare for the opposite.

(I think it rains every day at some point too)

XCskiNYC
08-22-2010, 14:32
All the tv and radio forecasts are based on the information from NOAA so you might as well get it right from the source:

http://www.noaa.gov/


Just put in the town name and state abbreviation (i.e., Rumford, ME) or the five-digit postal zip code. Keep in mind that the information you see will come from the nearest observation station which will usually be at the nearest medium to large size airport. They will account for the distance from the observation station by interpolating the forecast numbers, but the current report will come from the closest observation point.

NOAA also broadcasts local weather information on the VHF band. Some portable radios have these frequencies so a radio with this feature is handy if you won't have a phone or portable internet access. Many hikers like to have a radio for entertainment also so this counts as multi-use gear:

http://www.jr.com/sony/pe/SON_SRFM37W/


If you do have a cell phone you can get the local weather by sending a text message like this -- 1) type in either TOWN NAME, STATE ABBREVIATION WX or 01001 WX [whatever the local zip code is] 2) send to GOOGL (46645) 3) wait a few seconds for your current conditions and forecast to come back in a return text message.

You don't need a smartphone or anything fancy for this method, just any phone that can send an SMS text which would be pretty much any phone. If you intend to buy a phone here just for your hike I'd suggest a Tracfone as they are an inexpensive pre-paid phone and they use several networks including, predominantly, Verizon's, so you'll be assured of coverage anywhere that there's any cellphone coverage at all. Avoid Virgin/Sprint phones as their coverage is non-existent in most rural areas.

English Stu
08-22-2010, 17:19
Sounds a good idea,where would I buy one. I am staying for few days prior the hike in Searsport ME

mudhead
08-23-2010, 07:48
Walmart Brewer.

Best Buy Bangor.

Both in Augusta, Portland.

Now that 10K is gone, the weather will be nice.

Just be mentally set for "it suks out," and it will will seem elegant.

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=searsport,%20me&wuSelect=WEATHER

10-K
08-23-2010, 09:18
Now that 10K is gone, the weather will be nice.


You're just saying that... :)

How do you spell Maine? "R-A-I-N-A-N-D-M-U-D

Slo-go'en
08-23-2010, 10:06
Expect mild daytime temps - 60 to 70 and chilly nights 30-40.
It might rain, it might not. It might rain for a few hours or for a few days.

When you get to Maine, watch the 6 or 11 pm news on one of the local Maine TV stations to get the best current forcast for next few days.

XCskiNYC
08-25-2010, 10:00
Sounds a good idea,where would I buy one. I am staying for few days prior the hike in Searsport ME

Any large department store such as K-Mart, Walmart, Target. Also convenience stores such as 7-11, Cumberland Farms (ubiquitous in New England), Tedeschi's. An alternative to Tracfone is Net10 which is owned by the same company as Tracfone and uses the same network but charges a little less per minute ($0.10 versus $0.12 at current typical Tracfone rates).

Before buying one of these phones you should go to the Tracfone or Net10 website and check their coverage map for the area where you're going on your hike. They used to have quite a lot of coverage gaps in Maine but since they went over to an all-digital network they filled in quite a lot of these. Still, it's good to check to make sure you won't be in some way backwoods place out of radio range of the nearest cell antenna. Also certain physical features can cause blockage of the signal so you may want to double check that you aren't on the wrong side of a WB'er (the ones who spend more time posting here than out hiking).

weary
08-25-2010, 10:59
Based on my limited experience, here's how to accurately predict the weather in Maine.

1. Listen to a weather report.
2. Prepare for the opposite.

(I think it rains every day at some point too)
I live on the coast of Maine, about 35 miles north of Portland. When I think to check the forecasts, usually about once a week, they are almost always accurate. For instance, I rushed home to mow my lawn late yesterday when I heard on my car radio that rain was forecast for today. Sure enough I woke up to rain this morning.

In July our town land trust had two experienced and trained trail maintenance leaders here for two weeks so I checked the forecasts daily. I had recruited a batch of volunteers for those two weeks in hopes they would learn something about how to do quality trail maintenance from the "professionals." The forecasts were right on for 14 days straight.

Mountains tend to be more difficult to predict precisely than the coast. But I'm rarely surprised even there.

Weary

weary
08-25-2010, 11:14
BTW after several years of rainy summers, this has been a beautiful summer. Just hope that fall doesn't average things out. We had one record-breaking rainfall. It washed out a beaver dam and the bridge across the outlet stream, while the trail crew was here. But otherwise rain has been so scarce that outdoor fires have been banned along the coast.

DapperD
08-25-2010, 11:33
I live on the coast of Maine, about 35 miles north of Portland. When I think to check the forecasts, usually about once a week, they are almost always accurate. For instance, I rushed home to mow my lawn late yesterday when I heard on my car radio that rain was forecast for today. Sure enough I woke up to rain this morning.

In July our town land trust had two experienced and trained trail maintenance leaders here for two weeks so I checked the forecasts daily. I had recruited a batch of volunteers for those two weeks in hopes they would learn something about how to do quality trail maintenance from the "professionals." The forecasts were right on for 14 days straight.

Mountains tend to be more difficult to predict precisely than the coast. But I'm rarely surprised even there.

WearyFrom what I understand, with the arrival of the month of September in Maine, the weather along the coast takes a turn for the worst.

hikerboy57
08-25-2010, 11:47
10-k's got it right, september in maine, anything goes. It may be hot or cold, wet or dry or any combination of these.

weary
08-25-2010, 13:18
From what I understand, with the arrival of the month of September in Maine, the weather along the coast takes a turn for the worst.
September and early October are my favorite times of year. The hot, muggy days of midsummer are gone. The fall colors are underway. Chilly nights make for comfortable sleeping. Warm days make for delightful hiking.

The first frosts kill the mosquitos. These used to occur by mid-september. In recent years frosts have waited until the first or second week of October.

Those of us who have lived through the change in seasons know that the climate has changed. The real debate should be over why, and whether the change will be permanent.

The compensation is an extension of the growing season. When I returned to the coast 60 years ago, I could expect a killing frost to wipe out my sweet corn most any time once September rolls around. Now I have to plan my plantings to still be maturing well into October.

Weary

Doc Mike
08-25-2010, 15:25
Weary, not to highjack this thread but of course the climates changes how else do we explain the ice ages and the subsequent melt. Why would we every expect the climate to be constant given the known history of the planet.

just my .02
Doc Mike

mudhead
08-25-2010, 15:55
You're just saying that... :)

How do you spell Maine? "R-A-I-N-A-N-D-M-U-D

You must have come back for a visit. Raining like a beast.

Mud is no big deal. Muck and soup is nasty stuff.

Pedaling Fool
08-25-2010, 17:56
Weary, not to highjack this thread but of course the climates changes how else do we explain the ice ages and the subsequent melt. Why would we every expect the climate to be constant given the known history of the planet.

just my .02
Doc Mike
Yes, I agree, it does change and it does, on occasion, change on human timescale.

Just happens that I’m currently reading a book titled A Short History of the World. It covers from about 2 million years ago, when we were something other than what we are today to modern times – its copyright is 2000 so I guess that’s about when it ends (I’m about ½ way through).

It does talk about the medieval warm period and the associated bountiful harvests, across the board population growth, settling of Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland etc…

And then it talks about a change of climate that led to a cold, wet and hungry period during the early 1300’s. This is not the little Ice Age, I haven’t gotten that far into the book yet – I’m currently entering the 1500’s.

What’s interesting is that this book was written before the controversy of global warming/climate change got really toxic. So I have yet to see the terms "Global Warming" or "Climate Change". Instead the author uses typical words/terms like "warming", "cooling", "change of climate".

Pedaling Fool
08-25-2010, 18:10
Not sure how accurate this is, but they give highs/lows and basic conditions for most areas and shelters on the AT. And if you click on the high/low temps you'll get a week's forecast. http://www.sophiaknows.com/atdb/weather.php

weary
08-25-2010, 18:16
Yes, I agree, it does change and it does, on occasion, change on human timescale.

Just happens that I’m currently reading a book titled A Short History of the World. It covers from about 2 million years ago, when we were something other than what we are today to modern times – its copyright is 2000 so I guess that’s about when it ends (I’m about ½ way through).

It does talk about the medieval warm period and the associated bountiful harvests, across the board population growth, settling of Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland etc…

And then it talks about a change of climate that led to a cold, wet and hungry period during the early 1300’s. This is not the little Ice Age, I haven’t gotten that far into the book yet – I’m currently entering the 1500’s.

What’s interesting is that this book was written before the controversy of global warming/climate change got really toxic. So I have yet to see the terms "Global Warming" or "Climate Change". Instead the author uses typical words/terms like "warming", "cooling", "change of climate".
John:

Tell us the author. There have been several authors of books with that title -- the first by H G. Wells in 1922. There was a highly praised recent one in 1997, and a number in between. POssibly some later.

Weary

Pedaling Fool
08-25-2010, 18:24
He's a guy I've never heard of, just some book I checked out at the library. Geoffrey Blainey. He's an Aussie.

English Stu
09-22-2010, 05:49
Back home now .Weather was fine but expect just about anything. Had 100deg F so had to carry lots of water which was also in short supply after Monson.Then heavy rain after a Hurricane spin was close.Cold winds on Katahdin.Great hike though.