National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

• Home
• Site Map
• News
• Organization
• Search for: NWS All NOAA 

000
CXUS51 KGYX 031215
CLSGYX

PWMCLSGYX 000
TTAA00 GYX 011114

CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
714 AM EDT FRI SEP 01 2023

...................................

...THE GRAY ME CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE SUMMER SEASON, FROM
6/1/2023 TO 8/31/2023...

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1995 TO 2023

WEATHER         OBSERVED          NORMAL  DEPART   LAST YEAR`S
                VALUE   DATE(S)   VALUE   FROM     VALUE
                                          NORMAL
..............................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
 HIGH             99   07/22/2011
 LOW              37   06/01/2009
HIGHEST           89   06/02         93      -4       94
                       07/05
                       07/06
LOWEST            41   06/04         44      -3       46
AVG. MAXIMUM    74.6               76.9    -2.3     79.0
AVG. MINIMUM    58.8               57.6     1.2     59.6
MEAN            66.7               67.2    -0.5     69.3
DAYS MAX >= 90     0                3.8    -3.8        5
DAYS MAX <= 32     0                0.0     0.0        0
DAYS MIN <= 32     0                0.0     0.0        0
DAYS MIN <= 0      0                0.0     0.0        0

PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
 MAXIMUM       21.77   2009
TOTALS         21.34              12.30    9.04     9.60
DAILY AVG.      0.23               0.13    0.10     0.10
DAYS >= .01       52               36.5    15.5       32
DAYS >= .10       31               21.0    10.0       24
DAYS >= .50       13                8.0     5.0        5
DAYS >= 1.00       5                3.1     1.9        1
GREATEST
 24 HR. TOTAL   3.63  08/08                         1.73

SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
 TOTAL           0.0
TOTALS           0.0                0.0     0.0      0.0
SINCE 7/1        0.0                0.0     0.0      0.0
SNOWDEPTH AVG.     0
DAYS >= TRACE      0                0.0     0.0        0
DAYS >= 1.0        0                0.0     0.0        0
GREATEST
 SNOW DEPTH        0                                   0
 24 HR TOTAL     0.0                                   0

DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL    150                139      11       99
 SINCE 7/1        12                 31     -19        3
COOLING TOTAL    333                348     -15      523
 SINCE 1/1       347                357     -10      550
..............................................................



-  INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R  INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T  INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.

&&

THE SUMMER OF 2023 WAS WET IN THE GRAY AREA. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT A
TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WAS IN THE VICINITY OF THE NORTHEAST WHICH
LED TO FREQUENT PRECIPITATION EVENTS. MANY OF THESE PRECIPITATION
EVENTS INVOLVED VERY HEAVY RAIN ACROSS MAINE WITH WFO GYX ISSUING
MORE FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS WITHIN THE FORECAST AREA THAN ANY OTHER
YEAR. SOME OF THESE FLASH FLOOD EVENTS OCCURRED NEAR THE GRAY AREA
WITH THE MOST NOTABLE OCCURRING ON AUGUST 8TH WHEN 3.63 INCHES OF
RAIN FELL WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS TO THE NORTH OF THE AREA. AFTER A WARM
START TO THE SUMMER, TEMPERATURES TOOK A TUMBLE WELL BELOW NORMAL
WHEN A COLD FRONT DROPPED SOUTH THROUGH THE REGION ON JUNE 3RD
RESULTING IN A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF ONLY 49 DEGREES ON JUNE 4TH. IT
WAS ALSO DURING THE BEGINNING OF JUNE WHEN THE NAO DROPPED INTO
NEGATIVE TERRITORY WHILE THE PNA TURNED POSITIVE. THESE
TELECONNECTIONS FAVORED PATTERN OF UPPER LOWS LINGERING OVER NEW
ENGLAND AS A BLOCKING RIDGE OVER EASTERN CANADA INHIBITED THE
EASTWARD PROGRESSION OF THESE SYSTEMS. THIS PATTERN RESULTED IN
TEMPERATURES RUNNING WELL BELOW NORMAL FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE ALONG
WITH 21 DAYS OF THE MONTH RECEIVING MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION. WHILE
THE NAO DID TREND TOWARDS NEUTRAL DURING THE SECOND HALF OF JUNE THE
POSITIVE PNA HELPED TO MAINTAIN THE UNSETTLED PATTERN THROUGH THE
END OF THE MONTH. THE NAO TURNED SHARPLY NEGATIVE IN EARLY JULY AND
STAYED THERE THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH. THIS CONTINUED THE
UNSETTLED PATTERN THROUGH MUCH OF JULY WITH FRONTAL SYSTEMS OFTEN
STALLING OVER THE AREA DUE TO A DOWNSTREAM BLOCKING RIDGE NEAR
LABRADOR CANADA. THE GRAY AREA REMAINED ON THE WARM AND HUMID SIDE
OF THESE FRONTS RESULTING IN THE LOW TEMPERATURE FAILING TO DROP
BELOW 60 DEGREES FOR 31 DAYS FROM THE END OF JUNE UNTIL THE END OF
JULY. AT THE END OF JULY THE NAO TRENDED TOWARDS NEUTRAL ALLOWING
FOR FRONTAL SYSTEMS TO SWEEP ACROSS THE AREA LEADING TO COOLER AND
DRIER AIR TO ARRIVE INTO THE AREA. TEMPERATURES AVERAGED ABOVE
NORMAL IN JULY, LARGELY DUE TO WARM NIGHT TIME TEMPERATURES. THE
THEME OF FREQUENT PRECIPITATION EVENTS CONTINUED THROUGH AUGUST.
DURING THE FIRST HALF OF AUGUST THE NAO REMAINED NEGATIVE WHILE THE
PNA REMAINED POSITIVE WITH THESE TELECONNECTIONS FAVORING A TROUGH
JUST WEST OF NEW ENGLAND. THE NAO DID TREND TOWARDS NEUTRAL AT
TIMES, WHICH ALLOWED THE TROUGH AXIS TO SHIFT NEAR OVERHEAD OF THE
GRAY AREA AND SOMETIMES EAST OF NEW ENGLAND. THIS EASTWARD SHIFT OF
THE TROUGH AXIS ALLOWED FOR COOL AND DRY HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEMS TO
BUILD INTO THE AREA BRINGING PERIODS OF DRY WEATHER WITH
TEMPERATURES TRENDING NEAR NORMAL.

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE SUMMER WAS 66.7 DEGREES, WHICH WAS
0.5 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THE COOLEST SUMMER ON RECORD WAS IN 2009
WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 65.5 DEGREES. THE WARMEST WAS 69.3
DEGREES IN 2022.

A TOTAL OF 21.34 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL, WHICH WAS 9.04 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL AND THE SECOND WETTEST SUMMER ON RECORD. THE WETTEST
WAS IN 2009 WHEN 21.77 INCHES FELL. THE DRIEST WAS 6.92 INCHES IN
1999. THE FOLLOWING TABLE LISTS THE WETTEST SUMMERS ON RECORD AT GRAY.

MOST PRECIPITATION IN SUMMER (SINCE 1996)...
RANK  PRECIP  YEAR
1     21.77   2009
2     21.34   2023  <===
3     20.88   2006
4     19.52   2012
5     18.33   1998

$$

DS