The ocean can also influence our temperatures along the coastal plane here in Maine. During the winter, the ocean water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine are often warmer than the air temperatures. This often allows for warmer temperatures along the coast during the winter which can influence precipitation.

Frontal impact may sound like the title of a B-movie adventure, but in meteorology, fronts can make a significant difference in the type of weather we experience, especially during the winter season.

We are in a pattern that will deliver a series of cold fronts but not much precipitation. The warmest days out of the next 7-10 days are today and Tuesday.

The cold front brings big changes to end the weekend and usher in the new week. Sunday will be much cooler and breezy, with highs in the 60s and gusty winds at times out of the northwest. Next week will be much cooler with morning lows around freezing on Monday and Tuesday, with highs well below average in the 50s.

Warm January weather brings 80s to Austin before a late-week cold front drops temperatures back to more typical winter levels.

A continuing string of cold fronts is expected to bring frigid low temperatures to the Florida Panhandle later this week.

National outlook: Unseasonably warm air lingers over parts of the Plains and Upper Midwest early in the period, while colder air spreads south and east later in the week. This shift will bring lake-effect snow to the Great Lakes and a chance of wintry weather across portions of the Midwest, Appalachians, and interior Northeast by midweek.