000
CXUS51 KCAR 060005
CLACAR

CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
705 PM EST THU JAN 05 2023

2022 FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE AVERAGE
PRECIPITATION. IN CARIBOU IT RANKED AT THE 9TH WARMEST YEAR ON
RECORD. IN HOULTON IT RANKED AT THE 5TH WARMEST.  AT MILLINOCKET IT
WAS THE 6TH WARMEST, AND AT BANGOR THE 4TH WARMEST ON RECORD.

PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM 100 TO 130 PERCENT OF NORMAL WITH THE
GREATEST DEPARTURES ACROSS CENTRAL PISCATAQUIS COUNTY AND NORTHWEST
AROOSTOOK COUNTY. IT RANKED AS THE 11TH WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD AT
CARIBOU, AND THE 10TH WETTEST AT BANGOR.  IN HOULTON IT RANKED AS
THE 13TH WETTEST ON RECORD.

JANUARY: WILL BE REMEMBERED AS A COLD AND SNOWY MONTH.  IT WAS THE
COLDEST JANUARY SINCE 2009.  THE LOW OF 30 BELOW IN CARIBOU ON THE
MORNING OF THE 27TH WAS THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE OBSERVED SINCE 2009.
THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE OBSERVED ACROSS NORTHERN MAINE WAS A LOW OF
39 BELOW AT MASARDIS ON THE MORNING OF THE 27TH. ASIDE FROM IT BEING
A COLD MONTH, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT WAS A WINTER STORM
ON THE 29TH INTO THE EARLY MORNING OF THE 30TH WHICH BROUGHT HEAVY
SNOW, STRONG WIND, EXTENSIVE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW, AND BLIZZARD
CONDITIONS AT TIMES ACROSS THE DOWNEAST REGION WITH LOCAL BLIZZARD
CONDITIONS AS FAR NORTH AS SOUTHEAST AROOSTOOK COUNTY.

FEBRUARY: FEATURED NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE AVERAGE
SNOWFALL. A WINTER STORM ON THE 4TH INTO THE 5TH PRODUCED HEAVY
SNOWFALL ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS, AND PRODUCED AN AMAZING 5.3 INCHES
OF SLEET AT EASTPORT.  BANGOR SET AN ALL-TIME MONTHLY TEMPERATURE
RECORD ON THE 23RD WITH A HIGH OF 65F.  THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS
RECORD OF 60F, WHICH HAD STOOD SINCE FEBRUARY 21, 1937. AN ALL-TIME
RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS ALSO ESTABLISHED WITH
A LOW OF 42F ON THE 17TH, WHICH BROKE THE RECORD OF 41F SET ON
FEBRUARY 21, 1981.

MARCH: SIMILAR TO FEBRUARY THERE WERE FREQUENT ALTERNATING SPELLS OF
BOTH ABOVE AVERAGE AND BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. FOR THE MONTH AS
A WHOLE TEMPERATURES WERE A BIT BELOW AVERAGE NORTH AND A LITTLE
WARMER THAN NORMAL DOWNEAST. SNOWFALL WAS ABOVE AVERAGE NORTH AND
BELOW AVERAGE IN BANGOR AND DOWNEAST WHERE THERE WERE MORE RAIN
EVENTS. THE SNOWPACK AT THE END OF THE MONTH RANGED FROM 15 TO 30
INCHES NORTH WITH 3 FEET ON THE GROUND AT ALLAGASH. MOST OF THE SNOW
MELTED OUT IN BANGOR AND ALONG THE COAST DURING THE FIRST WEEK TO 10
DAYS OF THE MONTH.

APRIL: FINISHED WITH SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, ABOVE
AVERAGE PRECIPITATION, AND BELOW AVERAGE SNOWFALL. SNOWFALL WAS
SCANT WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT ON THE 28TH-29TH WITH 2 TO 5
INCHES ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS WITH A COUPLE OF SPOTS SUCH AS MARS
HILL AND JEMTLAND WHICH RECEIVED 8 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW. ICE OUT WAS
RELATIVELY SMOOTH ON THE NORTHERN RIVERS WITH NO SIGNIFICANT
FLOODING.

MAY: FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION RANGED FROM
WELL ABOVE AVERAGE IN THE FAR NORTH TO WELL BELOW AVERAGE DOWNEAST.
THE HIGH OF 90F IN CARIBOU ON THE 13TH NOT ONLY SMASHED THE PREVIOUS
DAILY RECORD BY A DOZEN DEGREES, IT WAS THE 2ND EARLIEST 90 DEGREE
DAY ON RECORD BEHIND ONLY MAY 9, 1979. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT OF
THE MONTH WAS HEAVY RAIN ACROSS FAR NORTHERN AREAS LATE IN THE MONTH
THAT PRODUCED LOCAL THREE-DAY TOTALS OF 4 TO 7 INCHES AND CAUSED
ROUTE 1 IN CYR PLANTATION TO COLLAPSE DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF
FLASH FLOODING AND A BEAVER DAM THAT BROKE LOOSE.

JUNE: WAS COOLER THAN AVERAGE AND FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE
PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE NORTH AND DRIER THAN NORMAL ACROSS CENTRAL
AND DOWNEAST AREAS. THE HIGH ON THE 19TH OF 49F AT CARIBOU WAS
UNUSUALLY COOL.  THE WARMEST WEATHER WAS LATE IN THE MONTH ON THE
25TH AND 26TH WITH WIDESPREAD HIGHS IN THE 80S AND LOWER 90S. BY THE
END OF THE MONTH, MODERATE DROUGHT WAS OBSERVED ACROSS MUCH OF
HANCOCK COUNTY, SOUTHERN PENOBSCOT COUNTY, AND EXTREME SOUTHERN
PISCATAQUIS COUNTY.

JULY: WAS A LITTLE WARMER THAN AVERAGE, AND WETTER THAN AVERAGE
ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION. DRIER THAN AVERAGE CONDITIONS WERE
OBSERVED FROM BANGOR SOUTH TO THE COAST AND IN PARTS OF WASHINGTON
COUNTY, AND IN PARTS OF NORTHWEST MAINE. MODERATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS
EXPANDED A BIT FURTHER TO THE NORTH TO INCLUDE CENTRAL PENOBSCOT
COUNT AS WELL AS CENTRAL PISCATAQUIS COUNTY. THERE WERE NO 90 DEGREE
DAYS IN CARIBOU OR HOULTON, BUT THREE CONSECUTIVE 90 DEGREE DAYS
WERE OBSERVED AT BANGOR FROM THE 22ND TO THE 24TH.

AUGUST: FEATURED ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WITH THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT DEPARTURES DOWNEAST. PRECIPITATION WAS HIGHLY VARIABLE
AND DEPENDENT ON THUNDERSTORMS. OVERALL, THE GREATEST TOTALS WERE
OBSERVED ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN AREAS WITH LESSER AMOUNTS
TOWARD THE COAST. DROUGHT CONDITIONS IMPROVED, AND BY THE END OF THE
MONTH NO PART OF THE REGION WAS IN DROUGHT WITH ONLY ABNORMALLY DRY
CONDITIONS NOTED ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE REGION.

SEPTEMBER: FINISHED WITH NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES, AND NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL, EXCEPT BELOW
AVERAGE ACROSS THE FAR NORTH.  THE FIRST FROST AND FREEZE OF THE
SEASON OCCURRED ON THE 19TH WHEN MAINLY OF THE NORTHERN VALLEYS
DROPPED BELOW FREEZING AND ESTCOURT STATION HAD A LOW OF 24F.
ANOTHER ROUND OF FROST AND FREEZE WAS OBSERVED ON THE 29TH, THIS
TIME ALL THE WAY SOUTH TO THE VALLEYS OF DOWNEAST MAINE.

OCTOBER: ENDED WITH WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL
THAT VARIED FROM WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TO SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE. THE
MONTH ENDED AS THE 3RD WARMEST OCTOBER ON RECORD AT BOTH CARIBOU AND
HOULTON, THE 5TH WARMEST AT MILLINOCKET, AND THE 10TH WARMEST AT
BANGOR. CARIBOU HAD 21 DAYS WITH A HIGH OF 60F OR WARMER, WHICH WAS
THE MOST ON RECORD. AREAS THAT DID NOT EXPERIENCE A HARD FREEZE IN
SEPTEMBER DID DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF OCTOBER. FALL FOLIAGE PEAKED
DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF THE MONTH IN THE SAINT JOHN VALLEY AND BY
MID-MONTH ALONG THE COAST.  IN BANGOR, IT ENDED AS THE 3RD WETTEST
OCTOBER ON RECORD WITH JUST SHY OF 9 INCHES OF RAIN.  NO SNOW WAS
OBSERVED ACROSS NORTHERN AND EASTERN MAINE, WHICH IS SOMEWHAT
UNUSUAL FOR NORTHERN AREAS.

NOVEMBER: BEGAN WITH RECORD WARMTH, AND BACK-TO-BACK HIGHS IN THE
70S AT CARIBOU FOR THE FIRST TIME ON RECORD. THE LOW TEMPERATURE OF
59F AT CARIBOU ON THE 6TH ESTABLISHED AN ALL-TIME RECORD WARM LOW
TEMPERATURE FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.  FOR THE MONTH AS A
WHOLE, TEMPERATURES AVERAGED FROM 1.5 TO 4 DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE.
PRECIPITATION WAS ABOVE AVERAGE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOME SPOTS IN
HANCOCK AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES WHERE PRECIPITATION WAS BELOW
AVERAGE. SNOWFALL WAS BELOW AVERAGE DOWNEAST AND BANGOR ONLY
OBSERVED 1 INCH OF SNOW FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH. SNOWFALL WAS A BIT
ABOVE AVERAGE ACROSS FAR NORTHERN MAINE WITH 14.3 INCHES AT CARIBOU.
BY THE END OF THE MONTH THE SNOW DEPTH RANGED FROM 6 TO 10 INCHES
NORTH OF THE KATAHDIN REGION WITH NO SNOW ON THE GROUND FROM
MILLINOCKET TO THE COAST.

DECEMBER: WAS MUCH WARMER THAN AVERAGE WITH NEAR TO ABOVE AVERAGE
PRECIPITATION AND BELOW AVERAGE SNOWFALL.  IT RANKED AS THE 3RD
WARMEST ON RECORD AT CARIBOU AND HOULTON AND THE 4TH WARMEST ON
RECORD AT MILLINOCKET AND BANGOR. THE LOW MONTHLY TEMPERATURES IN
CARIBOU OF ZERO WAS OBSERVED ON THE 28TH AND WAS THE 4TH LATEST
FIRST ZERO OCCURRENCE. SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL ON THE 3RD AND 7TH
LIQUIDATED EARLY SNOWPACKS FROM NOVEMBER.  SNOWFALL ACROSS THE
REGION WAS RELATIVELY LIGHT.  THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENT WAS A
PROLONGED EVENT FROM THE 16TH TO THE 19TH THAT PRODUCED TOTALS
UPWARDS TO 20 INCHES OVER SOME CENTRAL AND WESTERN AREAS. THE
MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTH AT CARIBOU WAS 13 INCHES AND AT BANGOR WAS 9
INCHES, BUT MOST OF IT DID NOT LAST TILL THE END OF THE MONTH DUE TO
MILD TEMPS AND RAIN. A RAIN AND WIND STORM ON THE 23RD PRODUCED 60
TO 75 MPH WIND AND DOWNED MANY TREES AND POWERLINES AND KNOCKED OUT
POWER TO 25 TO 30 PERCENT OF THE REGION.  POWER WAS NOT RESTORED FOR
NEARLY A WEEK IN MORE REMOTE AREAS DOWNEAST.

$$

CB/VJN