Winter weather on the pre-Thanksgiving menu

    CARIBOU, Maine — It’s one of the busiest travel days of the year, and snowfall’s in the forecast for The County.    Meterologist at the National Weather Service office in Caribou Richard Norton expects that Houlton will be hit the hardest with about 8.5 inches of snow.
“Basically it’s going to be an overnight storm, with minor amounts on Thursday morning,” Norton said. “There shouldn’t be any real significant winds, just minor drifting.”
Wednesday’s daily high should be between 34-36 in the Caribou-P.I. area, dipping to the upper 20s in the evening and falling farther into the lower 20s for Thanksgiving morning.
The high on Thursday is expected to be around 27 for Caribou and Presque Isle, 30 degrees for Houlton.
With today’s weather slated to be snowy, Northern Region Engineer for the Maine Department of Transportation Brent Bubar cautions those traveling to stay safe.
“First of all, observe the speed limit,” he said, explaining that speed limits go down when weather is worse and drivers are not supposed to travel faster than conditions allow.
Bubar also reminds drivers that they need to maintain enough stopping distance between themselves and the vehicle in front of them.
“When the roads get bad, it takes more distance to stop and you should be following farther behind,” he described.
That’s extra important when traveling behind a plow or large truck — but during heavy weather, drivers may only know they’re behind one of those heavy machines when the snow suddenly becomes thicker.
“That seems to be an issue people are learning — if the snow starts to get heavy, there could be a truck right in front of you kicking up snow,” Bubar said on Tuesday.
Even if drivers are outfitted with the fanciest four-wheel-drive and the best snow tires around, Bubar cautions against driving too fast for the weather.
“Once you start losing control — especially at interstate speeds or even highway speeds —you’re not going to be in control and drivers need to keep that in mind,” he recommended.
Though the weather outside may be frightful come this afternoon and evening, the region set some new high temperatures earlier this week.
Norton said that on Nov. 24, Caribou broke its previous high temperature of 55 degrees, set in 1967, with a 56-degree high. Houlton broke its record high of 57 degrees, set back in 1999, with a new 59-degree record.