Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME
742 CXUS51 KCAR 012009 CLMCAR CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME 256 PM EST MON JAN 01 2024 ................................... ...THE CARIBOU ME CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2023... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1939 TO 2023 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 60 12/01/2020 LOW -31 12/30/1989 HIGHEST 58 12/18 MM MM 47 12/03 12/07 LOWEST -2 12/06 MM MM 0 12/28 AVG. MAXIMUM 34.0 27.5 6.5 32.9 AVG. MINIMUM 20.6 12.3 8.3 19.6 MEAN 27.3 19.9 7.4 26.3 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 15 20.9 -5.9 15 DAYS MIN <= 32 28 29.8 -1.8 28 DAYS MIN <= 0 1 6.6 -5.6 1 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 7.97 1973 MINIMUM 0.74 1963 TOTALS 3.47 -0.13 DAILY AVG. 0.11 0.12 -0.01 0.15 DAYS >= .01 11 14.9 -3.9 18 DAYS >= .10 8 7.9 0.1 9 DAYS >= .50 3 2.5 0.5 4 DAYS >= 1.00 1 0.4 0.6 1 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.75 12/10 TO 12/11 1.45 12/07 TO 12/08 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 59.9 1972 TOTALS 9.9 25.2 -15.3 19.7 SINCE 7/1 20.8 37.4 -16.6 MM SNOWDEPTH AVG. 1 4 DAYS >= 1.0 4 6.1 -2.1 5 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 4 12/07 13 12/20 12/08 12/09 24 HR TOTAL MM MM 19.7 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 1160 1398 -238 1194 SINCE 7/1 2844 3388 -544 MM COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 351 224 127 MM ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 7.1 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 36/160 DATE 12/18 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 54/170 DATE 12/18 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.70 NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 6 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 8 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 17 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 75 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0 HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 3 LIGHT RAIN 7 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 2 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 1 LIGHT SNOW 20 SLEET 1 FOG 16 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 2 HAZE 1 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. * INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ...DECEMBER 2023 CLIMATE NARRATIVE FOR NORTHERN/EASTERN MAINE... DECEMBER 2023 FOR THE REGION AS A WHOLE FINISHED WITH WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION, BUT WELL BELOW AVERAGE SNOWFALL AND SNOW DEPTH. TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE AREA RANGED FROM 5.5 TO 7.0 DEGREES F ABOVE 1991-2020 NORMALS, RANGING FROM NEAR 26.0 OVER THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY TO 32.0 OVER DOWNEAST AREAS. IT WAS THE 2ND WARMEST DECEMBER ON RECORD FOR CARIBOU AND HOULTON, A TIE FOR 3RD WARMEST FOR MILLINOCKET, AND 4TH WARMEST FOR BANGOR. THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH WAS CLOSE TO AVERAGE, BUT THE SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH WAS WELL ABOVE AVERAGE CULMINATING WITH RECORD HIGH TEMPS OF 50S UPWARDS TO AROUND 60 ON THE 18TH AND 19TH WITH DAILY DEPARTURES ON THE 18TH AS HIGH 30 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. LOWEST TEMPERATURES OF THE MONTH OCCURRED ON THE MORNING OF THE 6TH WITH MANY LOCATIONS EXPERIENCING LOWS OF ZERO OR LESS WITH FAR NORTHWEST VALLEY LOCATIONS AS LOW AS 10 BELOW. BANGOR EXPERIENCED SUB-ZERO LOWS FROM THE 6TH-8TH. AVERAGE TOTAL PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE AREA VARIED GREATLY FROM 90 PERCENT OVER THE FAR NORTHEAST UPWARDS TO 200 PERCENT OR MORE OF 1991-2020 NORMALS OVER SOUTHWEST PORTIONS OF THE REGION WITH THE VAST MAJORITY RECEIVING WELL ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR DECEMBER. TWO EVENTS COMPOSED THE MAJORITY OF PRECIPITATION FOR THIS MONTH WITH THE FIRST ON THE 10-11TH AND THE SECOND ON THE 18TH WHERE 1.50-2.50 INCHES OCCURRED WITH EACH EVENT AT THE CLIMATE SITES, MOSTLY OR ENTIRELY IN THE FORM OF RAIN. WARMER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES THIS MONTH PRECLUDED MUCH IN THE WAY OF SNOWFALL AT THE CLIMATE SITES, RANGING ONLY 25 TO 50 PERCENT OF NORMAL. SNOWFALL WAS GREATER OVER THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND FAR NORTHWEST NEAR THE QUEBEC BORDER, UPWARDS TO 75 PERCENT OF AVERAGE. AT CARIBOU, THE GREATEST SNOW DAY OF 2.7 INCHES ON THE 13TH WAS A RESULT OF ORGANIZED NARROW SNOW SHOWER BANDING ASSOCIATED WITH THE PASSAGE OF AN ARCTIC FRONT RATHER THAN A LARGE SCALE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM, WITH LOCATIONS JUST NORTH IN THE CENTER OF THE BAND RECEIVING UPWARDS TO 6 INCHES. AT BANGOR THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL OF THE MONTH WAS THE 6.4 INCH EVENT THAT FELL ON THE 4TH WITH A DEVELOPING COASTAL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM. DUE TO MANY THAWING TEMPERATURE DAYS, LITTLE SNOWFALL, AND TWO MAJOR RAIN EVENTS, AVERAGE SNOW DEPTH ACROSS ALL OF THE REGION WAS WELL BELOW AVERAGE ABOUT 20 TO 50 PERCENT OF 1991-2020 NORMALS. THE HEAVY WARM RAIN EVENT OF THE 18TH COMPLETELY ERADICATED ANY SNOW PACK ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION. FOR INSTANCE, CARIBOU HAD A TRACE OR LESS OF SNOW ON THE GROUND FROM THE MORNING OF THE 16TH THROUGH THE MORNING OF THE 29TH WITH ZERO SNOW ON THE GROUND FROM 18TH-28TH. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS GREATLY IMPACTED THE TRADITIONAL START OF SKIING AND SNOW MOBILE SEASON USUALLY UNDERWAY BY THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH. WITH A LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL LATER ON THE 28TH INTO THE 29TH, A LIGHT SNOW PACK RETURNED TO MOST OF THE REGION AT THE CLOSE OF THE MONTH, BUT NOT ENOUGH FOR SNOW MOBILING AT THIS TIME. LASTLY OF SPECIAL NOTE WAS THE HEAVY RAIN/HIGH WIND EVENT OF THE 18TH. IN ADDITION TO HEAVY RAINFALL PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED AT THE CLIMATE SITES, WAS FLOODING RAINFALL TOTALS UPWARDS TO 5 INCHES OVER THE CENTRAL MAINE HIGHLANDS WHICH RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT RIVER FLOODING OVER THE PISCATAQUIS AND PENOBSCOT RIVER VALLEYS. FOR THE SECOND DECEMBER IN A ROW, THIS EVENT WAS ALSO ACCOMPANIED BY WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS, THIS TIME FROM THE SOUTH, RESULTING IN NUMEROUS DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES AND OVER 90,000 POWER OUTAGES. ALTHOUGH BY CHRISTMAS DAY, THE VAST MAJORITY WHO SUFFERED OUTAGES HAD POWER RETURNED, THERE WERE STILL SOME RESIDENCES WITHOUT POWER. STRONG SOUTH WINDS ALSO RESULTED IN SOME MINOR COASTAL FLOODING AT THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE. THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER`S FORECAST FOR JANUARY 2024 IS CALLING FOR MUCH GREATER ODDS OF ABOVE NORMAL RATHER THAN NORMAL OR ESPECIALLY BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE AVERAGE ODDS OF ABOVE RATHER THAN NEAR NORMAL OR BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION. AVERAGE TEMPERATURES RANGE FROM LOWS/HIGHS OF AROUND ZERO/20 DEGREES F OVER THE FAR NORTH TO AROUND 10/AROUND 30 ALONG THE DOWNEAST COAST. AVERAGE PRECIPITATION FOR THE ENTIRE REGION IS AROUND 3.00 INCHES. AVERAGE MONTHLY SNOWFALL/SNOW DEPTH RANGES FROM 15/5 INCHES ALONG THE DOWNEAST COAST UPWARDS TO 30/15 INCHES OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MAINE HIGHLANDS. $$ VJN/CB