LEWISTON — Get out the sunscreen and go enjoy the Great Falls.

The National Weather Service in Gray said the Androscoggin River rose to 9 feet on Sunday — nearly double its height from Saturday, but safely out of flood stage — and will stay high while the area enjoys temps climbing into the 70s over the next few days.

“The Androscoggin in Auburn was running about 5 feet yesterday,” said Meteorologist John Cannon. “That’s a pretty good rise.”

Flood stage is 13 feet and doesn’t appear on the horizon for the Androscoggin or smaller rivers locally, though he expected some like Carrabassett and Swift, near lots of snow melt, to potentially come close.

Maine has almost twice as much snow to shed this year than last. This winter, so far, the weather service has measured 95.3 inches in Portland. 

An average year through early April is 60.6 inches, Cannon said.

Last year was 49.6.

Doing all that melting: Temperatures forecast to come close to 70 degrees on Monday and into the low 70s on Tuesday.

Average this time of year is low 50s, so enjoy it while it lasts. Cannon said temperatures will cool off as the week progresses.

kskelton@sunjournal.com

Mike Worcester of Greene takes his sons, Chance, 5, and Jett, 9, for a stroll along the Riverwalk in Auburn Sunday afternoon to check out the roar of the mighty Androscoggin River going over the Great Falls. Visit sunjournal.com to get a bird’s-eye view of the falls from Sun Journal Aerial at sunjournal.com.