Climatological Report (Annual)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
000
CXUS51 KGYX 120407
CLAAUG
PWMCLAAUG 000
TTAA00 GYX 032139
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
438 PM EST TUE JAN 03 2023
...................................
...THE AUGUSTA CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR OF 2022...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1948 TO 2023
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 100 08/05/1955
LOW -23 02/02/1962
HIGHEST 93 08/04 93 0 94 06/28
08/07
06/29
06/30
LOWEST -13 01/27 -10 -3 -3 01/31
AVG. MAXIMUM 58.3 55.3 3.0 57.2
AVG. MINIMUM 39.1 37.0 2.1 39.8
MEAN 48.7 46.1 2.6 48.5
DAYS MAX >= 90 11 4.9 6.1 9
DAYS MAX <= 32 45 56.6 -11.6 50
DAYS MIN <= 32 127 146.7 -19.7 131
DAYS MIN <= 0 10 10.0 0.0 1
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 57.31 2005
MINIMUM 25.79 2001
TOTALS 43.12 41.84 1.28 35.48
DAILY AVG. 0.12 0.11 0.01 0.10
DAYS >= .01 122 137.3 -15.3 138
DAYS >= .10 77 78.8 -1.8 71
DAYS >= .50 28 26.4 1.6 21
DAYS >= 1.00 12 9.2 2.8 7
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 3.31 10/13 TO 10/14
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 6281 7278 -997 6382
SINCE 7/1 2196 2667 -471 2234
COOLING TOTAL 656 428 228 542
................................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 6.9
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 40/350 DATE 01/14
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 56/130 DATE 12/23
SKY COVER
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.41
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 67
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 15 HEAVY RAIN 33
RAIN 62 LIGHT RAIN 121
FREEZING RAIN 3 LT FREEZING RAIN 7
HEAVY SNOW 7 SNOW 10
LIGHT SNOW 39 FOG 165
FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 67 HAZE 41
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
&&
COLD WEATHER WAS ABLE TO TAKE HOLD OVER NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND DURING
JANUARY AS A RIDGE IN THE JET STREAM DEVELOPED OVER WESTERN NORTH
AMERICA WITH A DOWNSTREAM TROUGH CENTERED OVER THE GREAT LAKES. THIS
PATTERN ALLOWED FOR SEVERAL INTRUSIONS OF ARCTIC AIR INTO NEW
ENGLAND AS WELL AS A STORM TRACK ALIGNED NEAR THE EAST COAST. DURING
ONE OF THESE ARCTIC AIR INTRUSIONS THE LOW TEMPERATURE ON JANUARY
27TH DROPPED TO 13 DEGREES BELOW ZERO AND WOULD BE THE LOWEST
TEMPERATURE RECORDED FOR THE YEAR. THE COMBINATION OF COLD AIR AND
COASTAL STORM TRACK SET THE STAGE FOR A SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL EVENT
ON JANUARY 29TH WHEN A POWERFUL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DEVELOPED OFF
THE MID ATLANTIC COASTLINE AND TRACKED SOUTHEAST OF CAPE COD.
ANOTHER IMPACTFUL WINTER STORM TO AFFECT NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND
UNFOLDED ON FEBRUARY 3RD INTO THE 4TH WHEN A STALLED FRONTAL
BOUNDARY REMAINED DRAPED THROUGH SOUTHERN MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE
WITH WAVES OF LOW PRESSURE TRACKING ALONG THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY. THIS
SYSTEM BROUGHT SIGNIFICANT SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATIONS TO CENTRAL
MAINE.
A MILD END TO WINTER WAS FOLLOWED BY WARMER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES
THROUGH APRIL WITH A RELATIVE ACTIVE PATTERN BRINGING SEVERAL BOUTS
OF RAIN. THE ACTIVE PATTERN IN APRIL GAVE WAY TO A WARM AND DRY
PATTERN IN MAY. BEFORE THE WARM PATTERN SET IN THE LAST FREEZE OF
THE SPRING SEASON OCCURRED ON APRIL 21ST WHEN THE LOW TEMPERATURE
DROPPED TO 29 DEGREES. THEREAFTER WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS DOMINATED
THROUGH THE MONTH OF MAY WITH THE FIRST 70 PLUS DEGREE DAY OCCURRING
ON MAY 9TH. THE LACK OF LATE WINTER AND SPRING SNOW ALONG WITH A DRY
PATTERN IN MAY LED TO LITTLE IN THE WAY OF THE TRADITIONAL MUD
SEASON WITH DROUGHT CONDITIONS ONCE AGAIN DEVELOPING IN NORTHERN NEW
ENGLAND FOR THE THIRD SPRING IN A ROW.
THE SUMMER SEASON STARTED OFF COOLER THAN NORMAL WITH A PERIOD OF
BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES EARLY IN JUNE. ANOTHER PERIOD OF COOL
CONDITIONS ARRIVED DURING THE THIRD WEEK OF JUNE WHEN AN ANOMALOUS
UPPER LOW SETTLED OVER NEW ENGLAND WITH MEASURABLE SNOWFALL OCCURING
ON MT WASHINGTON ON JUNE 19TH. JUNE WAS ALSO DRY IN THE AUGUSTA AREA
WITH DROUGHT CONDITIONS EXPANDING AND INTENSIFYING ACROSS NORTHERN
NEW ENGLAND. TEMPERATURES THEN TRENDED WELL ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH
JULY WITH NEAR NORMAL PRECIPITATION. THE DOMINANT WEATHER FEATURE
WAS A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER EASTERN CANADA THAT OFTEN FAVORED
DRY CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEMS TO MOVE OVER NORTHERN NEW
ENGLAND. THIS MADE FOR VERY WARM AND SUNNY DAYS LEADING TO THE ABOVE
NORMAL TEMPERATURES BEING DRIVEN BY DAY TIME HIGHS. THE TREND IN
ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES CONTINUED INTO AUGUST. FROM AUGUST 5TH TO
THE 7TH THE LOW TEMPERATURE DID NOT DROP BELOW 70 DEGREES AND THE
HIGH TEMPERATURE ECLIPSED THE 90 DEGREE MARK FOR THREE DAYS IN A ROW
MAKING THIS THE HOTTEST STRETCH OF THE SUMMER. VERY WARM CONDITIONS
CONTINUED DURING THE SECOND HALF OF AUGUST AS A RIDGE OF HIGH
PRESSURE DEVELOPED OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC. THIS RIDGE WAS IN A
FAVORABLE POSITION TO ADVECT ATLANTIC MOISTURE INTO NEW ENGLAND
LEADING TO VERY HUMID CONDITIONS IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES. THE INCREASE IN HUMIDITY LED TO MULTIPLE HEAVY RAIN
EVENTS, WHICH ALLOWED AUGUST PRECIPITATION TO FINISH NEAR NORMAL.
WARMER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS IN AUGUST WERE FOLLOWED BY NEAR NORMAL
TEMPERATURES IN SEPTEMBER ALONG WITH A RELATIVELY ACTIVE PATTERN AS
A SERIES OF SLOW MOVING FRONTS CROSSED THROUGH NEW ENGLAND. THE
ACTIVE WEATHER CONTINUED DURING OCTOBER AS A LARGE RIDGE BUILT
ACROSS THE WEST COAST WITH A DOWNSTREAM TROUGH OVER THE GREAT LAKES
REGION AND ANOTHER RIDGE NEAR NEWFOUNDLAND. THIS ALLOWED FOR A
COUPLE OF FRONTAL SYSTEMS TO CROSS THE AREA WITH ONE BRINGING THE
GREATEST RAINFALL OF THE YEAR ON OCTOBER 13TH AND 14TH WHEN 3.31
INCHES OF RAIN FELL. BEFORE THIS HEAVY RAINFALL EVENT THE FIRST
FREEZE OF THE FALL SEASON OCCURRED ON OCTOBER 11TH WHEN THE LOW
TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO 31 DEGREES. A PERIOD OF EXCEPTIONAL WARMTH
SET IN DURING THE FIRST 12 DAYS OF NOVEMBER WHEN THE HIGH
TEMPERATURE ECLIPSED THE 70 DEGREE MARK FOUR TIMES AND A NEW ALL
TIME RECORD HIGH FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER OCCURRING ON NOVEMBER 5TH
WHEN THE HIGH REACHED 76 DEGREES. MUCH COOLER WEATHER SET IN DURING
THE SECOND HALF OF NOVEMBER WITH TEMPERATURES RUNNING BELOW NORMAL,
ALTHOUGH A RETURN TO ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ENSUED THROUGH
DECEMBER. TWO SIGNIFICANT SYSTEMS IMPACTED NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND
DURING DECEMBER WITH ONE OCCURRING ON THE 16TH INTO THE 17TH WHEN A
SLOW MOVING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CROSSED SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND INTO
THE GULF OF MAINE BRINGING HEAVY WET SNOW TO CENTRAL MAINE THAT
RESULTED IN NUMEROUS POWER OUTAGES. THE SECOND SYSTEM OCCURRED
DECEMBER 22ND INTO THE 23RD WHEN A POWERFUL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
TRACKED FROM THE GREAT LAKES INTO QUEBEC BRINGING HEAVY RAINFALL AND
THE STRONGEST WIND GUST OF THE YEAR AT AUGUST WHEN SOUTHEASTERLY
WINDS GUSTED TO 56 MPH.
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BY MONTH IN 2022
MONTH MAXIMUM MINIMUM AVERAGE NOTES
JANUARY 27.6 (-1.2) 9.2 (-2.9) 18.4 (-2.0)
FEBRUARY 36.0 (+4.1) 15.4 (+1.0) 25.7 (+2.5)
MARCH 44.4 (+3.8) 26.3 (+2.9) 35.4 (+3.4) 9TH WARMEST
APRIL 55.4 (+1.9) 37.1 (+2.9) 46.2 (+2.4)
MAY 71.3 (+5.5) 46.9 (+2.2) 59.1 (+3.8) 4TH WARMEST
JUNE 74.5 (+0.1) 54.4 (+0.3) 64.4 (+0.2)
JULY 84.5 (+4.6) 62.5 (+2.2) 73.5 (+3.4) 4TH WARMEST
AUGUST 81.9 (+3.0) 62.9 (+4.1) 72.4 (+3.5) 2ND WARMEST
SEPTEMBER 70.9 (-0.0) 52.5 (+1.5) 61.7 (+0.7)
OCTOBER 62.6 (+4.7) 42.3 (+1.9) 52.5 (+3.3) 6TH WARMEST
NOVEMBER 51.7 (+6.0) 33.9 (+3.6) 42.8 (+4.8) 4TH WARMEST
DECEMBER 38.7 (+4.0) 25.2 (+5.4) 32.0 (+4.8) 4TH WARMEST (TIED)
ANNUAL 58.3 (+3.0) 39.1 (+2.1) 48.7 (+2.6) 2ND WARMEST
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 48.7 DEGREES WAS THE SECOND WARMEST ON
RECORD FOR AUGUSTA. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE WAS A MECHANICAL ISSUE WITH
THE TEMPERATURE SENSOR AT AUGUSTA BETWEEN JANUARY 20TH THROUGH THE
23RD, WHICH COINCIDED WITH A COLD STRETCH OF WEATHER. AS A RESULT,
THIS MAY LEAD TO THE AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE BEING HIGHER THAN IT
ACTUALLY WAS. THE WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD WAS IN 1999 WHEN THE
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 49.3 DEGREES. THE COLDEST WAS 42.8 DEGREES
IN 1968. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE WARMEST AVERAGE ANNUAL
TEMPERATURES AT AUGUSTA.
WARMEST ANNUAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE (SINCE 1948)...
RANK AVE YEAR
1 49.3 1999
2 48.7 2022 <===
3 48.5 2021
4 48.4 2010
5 47.9 1998
6 47.8 2006
7 47.7 2020
47.7 2012
9 47.5 1973
10 47.4 1953
THE GROWING SEASON, AS DEFINED AS THE LONGEST CONSECUTIVE DAYS ABOVE
FREEZING, LASTED FOR 172 DAYS IN 2022 FROM APRIL 21 THROUGH OCTOBER
11. THIS IS 6 DAYS SHORTER THAN THE NORMAL OF 166 DAYS. THE
SHORTEST WAS ONLY 117 DAYS IN 1956. THE LONGEST GROWING SEASON WAS
201 DAYS IN 2017.
A TOTAL OF 43.12 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 1.28 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION FELL ON OCTOBER 13TH AND
14TH WHEN AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CROSSED THE AREA BRINGING HEAVY
PRECIPITATION AND GUSTY SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS. THE WETTEST YEAR ON
RECORD WAS IN 2005 WHEN 57.31 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION WAS RECORDED.
THE DRIEST WAS IN 2001 WHEN ONLY 25.79 INCHES WAS RECORDED.
MONTHLY PRECIPITATION TOTALS FOR 2022
MONTH PRECIPITATION NOTES
JANUARY 1.40 (-1.22)
FEBRUARY 2.56 (+0.24)
MARCH 3.75 (+0.54)
APRIL 4.63 (+0.81)
MAY 1.64 (-1.63)
JUNE 3.21 (-0.80)
JULY 3.17 (-0.03)
AUGUST 2.79 (-0.62)
SEPTEMBER 3.88 (-0.02)
OCTOBER 7.15 (+2.46) 9TH WETTEST
NOVEMBER 4.57 (+0.62)
DECEMBER 4.37 (+0.93)
ANNUAL 43.12 (+1.28)
DAYS WITH AT LEAST 1.00 INCH OF PRECIPITATION IN 2022
DAY PRECIPITATION
MARCH 19 1.15
APRIL 8 1.11
APRIL 27 1.05
JULY 18 1.60
SEPTEMBER 5 1.20
SEPTEMBER 22 1.75
OCTOBER 14 3.21
OCTOBER 18 1.55
NOVEMBER 11 1.10
NOVEMBER 30 1.31
DECEMBER 7 1.04
DECEMBER 23 2.16
THE FOLLOWING DAILY RECORDS WERE SET OR TIED IN 2022...
DATE RECORD PREVIOUS
FEB 17 40 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 38 IN 1981
FEB 23 64* -WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 59 IN 1990
MAR 7 37 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 37 IN 1979 (TIED)
MAY 14 92 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 87 IN 1961
MAY 22 59 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 59 IN 1992 /TIED/
JUL 18 1.60 -GREATEST PRECIPITATION 0.87 IN 2021
AUG 5 73 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 72 IN 1988, 1979
AUG 6 92 -WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 92 IN 2001 (TIED)
AUG 7 72 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 1980 (TIED)
AUG 20 89 -WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 89 IN 1955 (TIED)
AUG 23 67 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 67 IN 2009 (TIED)
AUG 30 69 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 69 IN 2010 (TIED)
SEP 12 67 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 66 IN 2013
SEP 22 1.75 -GREATEST PRECIPITATION 1.37 IN 1983
OCT 14 61 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 57 IN 2011, 1970
OCT 14 3.21 -GREATEST PRECIPITATION 1.02 IN 1978
OCT 18 56 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 56 IN 1967 (TIED)
OCT 26 61 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 52 IN 1971
NOV 5 76** -WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 67 IN 1994 AND 1982
NOV 6 60 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 51 IN 1988
NOV 6 72 -WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 66 IN 2020
NOV 7 75 -WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 73 IN 2020
NOV 12 55 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 52 IN 1984
NOV 12 71 -WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 63 IN 2020
DEC 23 2.16 -GREATEST PRECIPITATION 1.42 IN 1970
DEC 30 51 -WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 50 IN 1990
DEC 31 38 -WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE 35 IN 1948
DEC 31 50 -WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE 47 IN 2010, 1990
*THE 64 DEGREES ON FEB 23RD ALSO SET A NEW ALL TIME RECORD HIGH
TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY. THE PREVIOUS RECORD HIGH FOR
FEBRUARY WAS 60 DEGREES ON FEB 18, 1981.
**THE RECORD HIGH OF 76 DEGREES ON THE 5TH WAS ALSO A NEW ALL TIME
RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER. THE PREVIOUS ALL
TIME RECORD HIGH FOR NOVEMBER WAS 74 DEGREES ON NOVEMBER 4TH, 1990.
$$
DS/HAT