Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME
Issued by NWS Caribou, ME
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000 CXUS51 KCAR 080155 CLSCAR CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME 830 PM EST MON DEC 07 2020 ...FALL 2020 CLIMATE NARRATIVE FOR NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE... METEOROLOGICAL FALL (SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER) 2020 FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION WAS BELOW AVERAGE DOWNEAST AND INTO SOUTHEAST AROOSTOOK COUNTY WITH ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE FAR NORTH. FOR THE 3-MONTH PERIOD, TEMPERATURES AVERAGED FROM 1 TO 3 DEGREES ABOVE THE 30-YEAR AVERAGE, EXCEPT ACROSS NORTHWEST MAINE WHERE TEMPERATURES AVERAGED NEAR AVERAGE. CARIBOU WAS THE ONLY LONG TERM CLIMATE SITE TO OBSERVE A TOP 10 WARMEST FALL WHERE IT RANKED AS THE 7TH WARMEST ON RECORD. PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM 60 TO 90 PERCENT OF AVERAGE DOWNEAST AND NORTH INTO SOUTHEAST AROOSTOOK COUNTY, AND FROM 100 TO 130 PERCENT OF NORMAL ACROSS THE FAR NORTH. SEPTEMBER CONTINUED THE SUMMER TREND OF VERY DRY CONDITIONS. ONLY 5 TO 40 PERCENT OF THE NORMAL PRECIPITATION WAS OBSERVED. JUST 0.28 INCHES OF RAIN WAS OBSERVED IN BANGOR, WHICH EASILY MADE IT THE DRIEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD. IT WAS ALSO THE DRIEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD IN HOULTON, THE 2ND DRIEST IN CARIBOU, AND 3RD DRIEST IN MILLINOCKET. MANY RIVERS REACHED ALL-TIME RECORD LOW FLOW LEVELS AS DROUGHT CONDITIONS INTENSIFIED WITH SEVERE TO EXTREME DROUGHT ACROSS MOST OF THE REGION. FORTUNES CHANGED IN OCTOBER IN REGARDS TO PRECIPITATION. AFTER FIVE CONSECUTIVE DRY MONTHS, RAINFALL RANGED FROM 100 TO 130 PERCENT OF NORMAL DOWNEAST, 130 TO 160 PERCENT OF NORMAL OVER CENTRAL AREAS, AND FROM 160 TO 220 PERCENT OF NORMAL ACROSS THE NORTH AND CENTRAL HIGHLANDS. BY MONTHS END, 7.21 INCHES OF RAIN WAS OBSERVED IN CARIBOU MAKING IT THE 3RD WETTEST ON RECORD. THE SEASONS FIRST SNOWFALL OCCURRED ON THE 26TH ACROSS THE NORTH WITH 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW, EXCEPT AS MUCH AS 6 TO 10 INCHES IN NORTHERN SOMERSET COUNTY. BY THE END OF THE MONTH, THE FAR NORTH WAS REMOVED FROM DROUGHT, AND MODERATE DROUGHT REMAINED ACROSS MOST OF THE REGION. THE ONLY EXCEPTION WAS IN SOUTHERN HANCOCK COUNTY WHICH REMAINED IN SEVERE DROUGHT. THE BIG STORY IN NOVEMBER WAS THE RECORD WARMTH ON NOVEMBER 9TH THROUGH THE 12TH, WHICH WAS PUNCTUATED BY ALL-TIME RECORD NOVEMBER TEMPERATURES ON THE 10TH. CARIBOU OBSERVED A HIGH OF 75 DEGREES (F), WHICH SMASHED THE PREVIOUS MONTHLY RECORD OF 68F. HOULTON ALSO HAD AN ALL-TIME MONTHLY HIGH OF 73F, AND EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVELY MILLINOCKET HAD AN ALL-TIME MONTHLY HIGH OF 74 DEGREES, WHICH BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD THAT DATED ALL THE WAY BACK TO 1903. PRECIPITATION WAS MORE VARIABLE RANGING FROM 70 TO 140 PERCENT OF NORMAL, BUT WAS ENOUGH TO FURTHER IMPROVE THE DROUGHT CONDITIONS. BY THE END OF THE MONTH, ONLY COASTAL HANCOCK REMAINED IN SEVERE DROUGHT, WITH MODERATE DROUGHT NORTH INTO CENTRAL HANCOCK AND CENTRAL WASHINGTON COUNTIES. SNOWFALL WAS ABOVE AVERAGE IN THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY, BELOW AVERAGE IN CARIBOU, AND NEAR AVERAGE IN BANGOR. $$ CB/VJN