The National Weather Service is giving advance notice to Mainers and those traveling to and from the state this weekend of a potentially significant storm. Forecasters say the system is not your typical northeaster, and could cause coastal flooding and power outages, in addition to winds and snowfall.

Forecasters say with the holiday weekend approaching, they're trying to bring attention to what could be an historically significant storm, if all factors combine as models indicate.

"There have been signals the last three days of this coming together, and the atmospheric players that are out there right now are already in place," says Mike Cantin, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Caribou. Cantin says the storm is setting up as a typical a northeaster, but with a few factors that could make it more severe.

"What would make this historically different is that with a typical nor'easter, you know it roars up the coast, you get the wind, maybe get some surge, you get the snow, but the system continues to progress to the east and northeast fairly rapidly," he says. "What's happening with this system is we have a big blocking high, a big ridge of high pressure over southern Greenland, which is basically trapping the weather pattern and the potential is there for instead of a foot or a foot-and-a-half of snow, it lingers long enough that you get multiple feet of snow, and the winds last longer as well."

Adding to the uncertainty, says Cantin, is how the track of a low pressure system off the east coast affects wind direction. If those winds are directed on shore, they could combine with a higher-than-normal tide on New Year's Day.

"In the morning, we have an astronomical high tide, we have a full moon, and so the water will already be a little higher than normal, and if we factor in this low moving in, then the potential exists, so we're just highlighting the potential that's out there," Cantin says. "People should be aware that now may be a good time, if you haven't done some planning, to get prepared and be thinking, 'cause we're pretty certain something is going to happen -- it could be a major storm."

Cantin says the storm could last well through the weekend, and deposit as much as 48 inches of snow in some inland areas. "We're seeing a range in our forecast models, generally more than a foot of snow, and the majority of models right now indicating more than a foot-and-a-half of snow. Some models are indicating in excess of three feet of snow. So there is a range in there, but we're fairly certain that we'll see more than a foot."

For Maine's ski areas, the forecast is not likely to scare away potential New Years visitors, at least according to the operators at Sugarloaf. "Big snowstorms for us, we always view as good news," says Suglarloaf's Communications Manager Ethan Austin.

Austin says he believes skiers will be attracted to the conditions created by new snowfall, and that the storm is actually timed perfectly for the New Year's weekend. "Looks like it's going to hit on New Year's Day, and that night, which gives our guests a chance to get up here for New Year's Eve and then stay through the weekend, and by Sunday it looks the storm will be truckin' on out of here and the roads should be clear for people to drive home. So, really, the way it's setting up right now is just about perfect for us."

The National Weather Service says that, at this point, the storm is expected to arrive late Friday morning.