Ryan Breton

1 week ago | newscentermaine.com | Ryan Breton

GRAY, Maine — Staffing cuts at the National Weather Service are hitting close to home. On May 1, the office in Gray stopped launching weather balloons each morning, citing a lack of regular staffing. Typically, balloons are launched twice per day at more than 90 sites across the country, each morning and each evening. In our region, this includes launches from Gray and Caribou in Maine, and Albany and Upton in New York.

2 weeks ago | newscentermaine.com | Ryan Breton

MAINE, USA — Maine's brush fire season is underway. Springtime is when the majority of our wildfires take place. Through early this week, there have been more than 200 brush fires reported across the state, according to the Maine Forest Service. The time between snowmelt and "green up" is when brush fires occur most often in Maine. Even in a rainy spring, they happen. In dry patterns, they can become even more common. At this point, the sun angle is equal to mid-August.

3 weeks ago | newscentermaine.com | Ryan Breton

MAINE, USA — Are you feeling it yet? Although not everything is in bloom in Maine just yet, pollen counts are on the rise. There are three phases to allergy season. The first is tree pollen, which is underway and typically peaks in Maine. Following tree pollen, grasses become more of a problem in the late spring and early summer, typically peaking in July. Ragweed is the primary allergen later in the summer until the first killing frost, which usually isn't until October.

2 months ago | newscentermaine.com | Ryan Breton

MAINE, USA — This lunar eclipse may be getting a bit more attention after last April's spectacular total solar eclipse, which cast northern Maine in darkness for a few minutes. The alignment of the planets during a lunar eclipse is different, though. During a lunar eclipse, the Earth passes between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow on the moon. Since you do not look directly at the sun when viewing a lunar eclipse, safety glasses are not needed.

2 months ago | newscentermaine.com | Ryan Breton

MAINE, USA — While many Mainers were out working to clear the heavy snow from Sunday's storm, they were met with another winter weather challenge: biting winds.   The wind on Monday gusted over 50 mph at times. Add the fresh snow from Sunday, and there's been a lot of blowing and drifting of snow back on to roads. Take care driving, especially around large open fields.