Welcome to the Sunrise Herald with Giselle Goodman, the place to go to get the news from overnight and beyond...

IN THE WEATHER

At 9 a.m., it was 0 degrees and SNOWING in downtown Portland.

Snow all day. Snow tomorrow. Snow for the rest of the week. Likely to clear up sometime in June...

APRIL FOOLS' DAY!....

Of course, the real forecast isn't much prettier. Yes, the air temperature will be warmer than in days past (36 at the last check). It could reach into the low 50s. But there will be little or no sun to speak of, and periods of light rain or drizzle plague the day.

Tomorrow, sun. But colder again. And windy. No joke.

FROM OUR WEATHER WATCHERS

• At 6:05 a.m. BILL in ROCKLAND said: "39.9 degrees, misty, and drizzly in Rockland early on - no kidding."

• At 6:05 a.m. MARK in BRUNSWICK said: "36 and a delightful mix of drizzle, mist and fog. For the first night in a while, it never got below freezing (low of 35)."

• At 6:30 a.m. SHAWN in YARMOUTH said: "40 degrees, with drizzle and fog.... A warm dreary day. I really wanted to say, sunny and 60, but that would not fool anyone."

• At 7:10 a.m. KAREN in STEEP FALLS said: "It is quite foggy outside this morning and the temp is 36. I've got my flip-flops ready for the 60 degrees they're anticipating today! Happy Tuesday!"

ON THE OCEAN:

The wind is coming and to prepare, there is already a small craft advisory in effect through tomorrow evening. The wind doesn't really pick up until late this afternoon, gusting up to 30 knots at times. But the seas build and will be swelling 5 to 8 feet by evening.

High tides today in Portland at 7:40 a.m. and 8:25 p.m. Tide goes out at 2:08 p.m.

ON THE ROAD:

• Some spring cleaning planned for the MAINE TURNPIKE today at mile 3 in Kittery, where a northbound lane closure is scheduled between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. for sweeping. --- Between miles 13 in York and 14 in Ogunquit, a northbound lane closure is scheduled between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. for road work. --- Drivers might run into some delays at mile 25 in Kennebunk at the bridge, where a double lane closure occurs between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m.

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SHE'S ALWAYS WANTED TO BUY A VOWEL from Pat Sajak, and finally, Pamela Parker of Long Island got her chance.

Parker, the postmaster of Long Island, will be on the "Wheel of Fortune" game show tonight, spinning the wheel and calling out the letters.

She's always wanted to be a contestant on something. Last summer she signed up at the Yarmouth Clam Festival to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, but was originally told she wasn't selected.

A month later, though, she received a letter inviting her to an interview for a second try-out. She survived the cut, and after another month, got another letter telling her to be ready to go within the year. The call came three weeks ago: Come to Los Angeles in a week and be ready for taping.

So, was it worth it? Did she walk away with a brand new car? A trip to Hawaii? Or a big black bankrupt goose egg? Tune in to your ABC affiliate at 7 p.m. tonight to find out.

LAMB WATCH 2008 IS ON AT WOLFE'S NECK FARM. It's an annual event at the Freeport farm. Two babies already have arrived – a Romney cross ram named "Scout", weighing 10 lbs. He was born at 11:13 a.m. on March 29. His name is in recognition of the group of Girl Scouts from various troops in the area who were visiting the farm for a program to learn about animals and got an surprise look at the birth of an animal.

A half hour later, Scout's twin sister “Missy” arrived.

There are more lambs on the way, though, and the lamb watch will continue through April at the farm at 184 Burnett Road.

Birthing times are determined by nature and cannot be guaranteed. Baby chicks are also due in early April at the farm. Call 865-4469 for more information or to sign up for a "lamb watch" shift.

TODAY IS MAINE'S EQUAL PAY DAY but it will be tough to celebrate, say the state's advocates for women, who claim that under Maine’s Equal Pay Act, the wage gap is growing again.

The most recent data released by the American Community Survey pins women’s wages at an average of 75% compared to men’s wages (or 75 cents for every dollar made by a man). The gap is even wider for Hispanic and African-American women.

“If the wage gap continues to persist at this level, young women soon to enter the workforce will see the loss of between $500,000 and $2 million over the course of their lifetime,” announced Karen Keim, board chair of Girl Scouts of Maine.

Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the previous year. In Maine, Equal Pay Day is recognized the first Tuesday of every April.

FOOLS WILL BE RUSHING INTO Southwest Harbor, when various members of the Coast Guard dive into the chilly Atlantic at 8 a.m. sharp for the annual "Fools Rush In Polar Bear Swim."

The purpose of the swim is to familiarize Coast Guard rescuers with cold water immersion.

"We conduct the swim every year to better educate our responders and the boating public about the dangers of cold water," Lt. Cmdr. Jim McCown Jr. of Coast Guard Sector Northern New England said. "It's a good reminder each spring that even though the air might feel warmer, the water is still frigid,"

Then again, I haven't really been encouraged by the air temp lately to take an outside swim. You?

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