Public Information Statement
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME

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Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Caribou ME
657 PM EST Sat Mar 2 2024

...PRELIMINARY NORTHERN/EASTERN MAINE WINTER 2023-2024 CLIMATE SUMMARY...

METEOROLOGICAL WINTER (DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY) FINISHED WITH
WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION WAS ABOVE AVERAGE
DOWNEAST AND ACROSS THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND BELOW AVERAGE
ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS. SNOWFALL WAS BELOW AVERAGE ACROSS THE
ENTIRE REGION.

IT WAS THE WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD IN CARIBOU, HOULTON, AND
MILLINOCKET, AND RANKED AS THE 3RD WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD IN
BANGOR.

SNOWFALL WAS WELL BELOW AVERAGE WITH A 3-MONTH TOTAL OF 26" IN
BANGOR WHICH MADE IT THE 6TH LEAST SNOWY WINTER ON RECORD. IN
CARIBOU, 46.1" OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED DURING THE 3-MONTH PERIOD
MAKING IT THE 8TH LEAST SNOWY METEOROLOGICAL WINTER ON RECORD.

DECEMBER 2023 FOR THE REGION AS A WHOLE FINISHED WITH WELL ABOVE
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION, BUT WELL BELOW AVERAGE
SNOWFALL AND SNOW DEPTH.  IT WAS THE 2ND WARMEST DECEMBER ON
RECORD FOR CARIBOU AND HOULTON, A TIE FOR 3RD WARMEST FOR
MILLINOCKET, AND 4TH WARMEST FOR BANGOR.

TWO EVENTS COMPOSED THE MAJORITY OF PRECIPITATION FOR DECEMBER
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. OF SPECIAL NOTE WAS THE
HEAVY RAIN/HIGH WIND EVENT OF THE 18TH. IN ADDITION TO HEAVY
RAINFALL AT THE CLIMATE SITES, FLOODING RAINFALL TOTALS UPWARDS
OF 5 INCHES OVER THE CENTRAL MAINE HIGHLANDS RESULTED IN
SIGNIFICANT RIVER FLOODING OVER THE PISCATAQUIS AND PENOBSCOT
RIVER VALLEYS. THIS EVENT WAS ALSO ACCOMPANIED BY WIDESPREAD
DAMAGING WINDS, RESULTING IN NUMEROUS DOWNED TREES AND POWER
LINES AND OVER 90,000 POWER OUTAGES.

JANUARY 2024 FOR THE REGION AS A WHOLE FINISHED WITH ABOVE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION WAS MOSTLY BELOW AVERAGE, EXCEPT
SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE ALONG THE COAST. SNOWFALL WAS NEAR AVERAGE
ACROSS THE REGION. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF THE MONTH OCCURRED
ON THE 10TH AND 13TH WHEN SIGNIFICANT COASTAL FLOODING WAS
OBSERVED ALONG THE WASHINGTON AND HANCOCK COUNTY COASTS. ALTHOUGH
THE OBSERVED WATER LEVELS WERE HIGHER ON THE 13TH, HIGHER WAVE
HEIGHTS AND MORE SIGNIFICANT WAVE RUN UP LED TO MORE WIDESPREAD
AND SIGNIFICANT FLOODING ON THE 10TH.

FEBRUARY 2024 FOR THE REGION AS A WHOLE FINISHED WITH WELL ABOVE
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION AND SNOWFALL WERE BOTH WELL
BELOW AVERAGE. TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE AREA RANGED FROM 5.5 TO
7.5 DEGREES (F) ABOVE 1991-2020 NORMALS. IT RANKED AS THE 5TH
WARMEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD AT BOTH CARIBOU AND HOULTON, THE 4TH
WARMEST IN MILLINOCKET, AND THE 9TH WARMEST IN BANGOR. SNOWFALL
WAS WELL BELOW AVERAGE ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION. IN FACT, IT WAS
THE 2ND LEAST SNOWY FEBRUARY ON RECORD IN BANGOR WITH ONLY 1.2
INCHES OF SNOW. THE ONLY YEAR ON RECORD WITH LESS SNOWFALL IN
FEBRUARY WAS IN 1998 WHEN AN INCH WAS OBSERVED. IN CARIBOU, ONLY
8.7 INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED WHICH MADE IT THE 7TH LEAST SNOWY
FEBRUARY ON RECORD.

A WARM-UP AND RAIN AT THE END OF THE MONTH WIPED OUT SO MUCH OF
THE SNOWPACK ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS AND THE SNOWMOBILE TRAILS
BECAME POOR AND IN MOST AREAS THE SNOWMOBILE SEASON ENDED. THE
LACK OF SNOW HAD SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR WINTER RECREATIONAL
ACTIVITIES CAUSING MANY TO BE POSTPONED OR CANCELLED.

$$

CB/VJN


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